The Box Ghost's Revenge
by The Sleep Warrior
Summary: Danny's friends and family have been kidnapped by none other than the Box Ghost. But he's incapable of kidnapping. Right? DxS at end, mostly.
1. Chapter 1

Helpful suggestions are always welcome! Enjoy my curiously fun fic!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. And probably never will (slight growling heard in the background…)

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Chapter One

"I will be back, and my cubical friends of doom will destroy you!"

Danny Phantom was fighting the ever-so-annoying Box Ghost yet again. He was the one ghost who always seemed to escape, and always turned up at the most inopportune moments. Like now. He, Sam, and Tucker were just about to go to the totally awesome new movie, 'Dead Teacher XXV, that everyone had been talking about when none other than the Box Ghost showed up. Again.

"Yeah, right. Like that will ever happen." Danny replied, a sigh of exasperation leaving his mouth. Fighting the Box Ghost was really getting boring. He pulled out the Fenton thermos and sucked the Box Ghost in, ignoring his frantic cries of "Beware!"

Danny floated down to his two best friends, changing back into his human form as he hit the ground. Both looked as annoyed as he felt; they'd really wanted to see the movie, but it had started almost a half hour ago..

"How in the world does the Box Ghost keep escaping? It's like he's stalking me or something," Danny moaned as they started walking back towards his house.

Sam and Tucker just shrugged. "Maybe he's found another portal nearby," Tucker.

"Maybe," Danny replied, "but he's really been getting on my nerves lately! Why can't he just leave us alone, even for a week? And because of him my grades are worse than they usually are!"

"Chill, dude," said Tucker. "I'm sure he'll go away eventually. Until then, just try to ignore him. Maybe he'll get the hint and stop bugging you."

"How can I ignore him when he keeps popping up every five minutes? And he keeps coming back with more power, and ranting about how he'll soon have his revenge on me." They stopped in front of Danny's house where they were going to spend the night.

"Danny, you're overreacting," said Sam. "You're just tired from all of the ghost hunting you've been doing lately." Shrugging at her suggestion, Danny opened the front door, only to be met by his enthusiastic mother.

"Danny, what are you doing home this early? I thought you and your friends were going to watch that new movie that just came out. That's all you have been talking about for weeks." By now, Danny had become accustomed to avoiding any topic that had to deal with his ghost hunting.

"Oh, yeah. Well, we got a bit sidetracked." A small feeling of relief flickered through him as his mother nodded, accepting his excuse. He was just about to lead his friends up to his room when his father came charging into the family room.

"Did it have anything to do with ghosts?" Jack yelled. He slid to a halt in front of the three, holding some kind of new ghost fighting weapon. Danny nervously backed away from it, bumping into the wall behind him.

"N-nno, dad." stuttered Danny. "Nothing to do with ghosts at all. We're just going to head up to my room. Bye dad."

"Oh. Well, you kids have fun then. Are you sure you don't want to come see me test my latest invention? I call it the 'Fenton Smasher'! It pulverizes any ghost in seconds!"

"Um, no thanks Mr. Fenton. We, um, have some homework to do. BIG project. Gotta go!" Sam said, shoving Danny and Tucker up the stairs and into Danny's room before anyone could stop them.

"Well, if you change your minds, you'll know where to find us!" Jack yelled after them. "Come on, Maddie! Let's go test this puppy! I heard that the ghost kid was just seen in the park!" Jack and Maddie disappeared out the door, looking for an unsuspecting victim to test the Fenton Smasher on.

Up in Danny's room, Tucker and Sam were still trying to calm Danny down.

"Come on, Danny. Be realistic. The Box Ghost isn't really a threat. It's all in your head." Sam said.

"Yeah," Tucker sarcastically interjected, "it's not like he's really gonna stuff you in a box forever where you can never get out!" Both he and Sam burst out laughing at the image of Danny stuck inside a tiny box for all eternity.

"Guys, this isn't funny! I'm being serious!" Sam and Tucker both stopped laughing, exchanging worried looks at their friend's paranoia.

"Danny, you really shouldn't worry about it." Sam reasoned. "I mean, it's not like you can't beat him. You've done it a thousand times before. Just relax."

Danny sighed and turned away from her. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I am taking this too seriously. I'm gonna put the Box Ghost back in the Ghost Zone. I'll be right back." With that he went ghost and phased down to the basement.

Once he was in his parent's lab, he started questioning what had happened.

"Even if Sam is right, how does the Box Ghost keep getting out? And he couldn't be getting more powerful this fast on his own, could he? I thought ghosts didn't evolve that quickly."

He was just about to put the Box Ghost back in the Ghost Zone when he heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Danny, are you down there?" asked a concerned voice.

"Oh no! Jazz!" Danny quickly turned invisible, accidentally dropping the thermos just as his sister came down the stairs into the lab.

"Danny? I thought I heard you… huh, that's funny. I could have sworn I heard him down here." She looked around and saw the dropped thermos. She walked over and picked it up, then looked nervously around her like she felt someone was watching her.

"Who's there? I know you're down here Danny! Stop messing around and come out! I need to talk to you."

She looked around the lab again, hoping to see the brother she knew was there. After a few more seconds, Jazz sighed and walked upstairs, Fenton thermos still in her hands.

"Oh, great," Danny said to himself. "Just what I needed. Now I have to try to figure out this mystery, avoid my sister at all costs, and try and get the thermos back from her without her noticing. That'll be fun. At least the Box Ghost didn't escape when I dropped him."

He flew back to his room and turned back to normal just as his sister knocked on the door.

"Danny? You have to be in there. Let me in, I really need to talk to you. It's important."

"Dude," Tucker whispered. "Where's the thermos?"

Danny didn't have time to reply, as Jazz chose that moment to barge into his room, still holding the thermos in her hand.

"Danny! There you are." She jabbed the thermos at his nose reprovingly, causing him to take a wary step away from her. "Hey Sam, Tucker. Do you guys mind? I need to talk to Danny for a bit." Jazz didn't wait for an answer and just pushed Tucker and Sam through the door, shutting it behind them.

"What do you want?" Danny snarled, turning his back on his annoying sister.

"Danny, I've noticed you've been acting really strange lately. What's going on? You're grades are slipping, and you've been spending all of your time with Sam and Tucker. You aren't doing the best you could, and I'm worried about you. I'm starting to winder if all of this ghost business with mom and dad isn't starting to have some kind of psychological repercussions." Danny's eyes grew wide at his sister's statement, but he quickly shook the feeling off. _It's not like she could know about me being half ghost anyway._

"Nothing is wrong with me, Jazz. Just let Sam and Tucker back in so we can get some sleep. I'm exhausted."

Jazz looked at him concernedly, but let the issue drop.

"Oh, alright. And by the way, I found this in the lab downstairs. Though you might like to have it." She handed him the Fenton thermos and left the room, leaving a very confused Danny behind. Tucker and Sam quickly hurried back into the room once Jazz left.

"Danny, what did she say to you? You look like a ghost!" said Tucker.

Danny shot him a glare. "Oops, sorry."

"I'm not sure what she meant. But she gave me the thermos and left, saying she though I might want it. Do you think she knows?"

"Don't worry about it now, Danny." Sam led him to his bed, pushing him down onto it. "Just get some sleep. We'll worry about it in the morning."

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Jasmine Fenton leaned against the door of her brother's room after his friends had rushed back in, softly shaking her head at his hard-headedness. _At least I tried. But he'd feel a lot better if he just told me himself. I don't know how much longer I can keep it to myself before it blurts out of me._ Pulling herself off of the door, she headed down the hallway to her own room, sending up a silent prayer that her brother would come to his senses and confront her about his powers.

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So, what do you think? Good, bad, ugly? Constructive criticism is happily accepted. Pleeeeez review! And tell me if you think I should go on. But if you thought this was a bit boring, I'm sorry. But I promise it gets way better. I have the most wonderful idea for where this is going.


	2. Chapter 2

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I'm feeling especially evil today. I don't know why. Anywho, a big THANX to my 3 reviewers!

**Travis**: Well, here you go.

**I Break For Ghosts**: THANK YOU! You reviewed, and you're not even related to me! Unlike my other two reviewers… anyway, thanks for the great review. I'll put up better choices this time. This chapter is so dedicated to you! Yay!

**Jaina Kenobi**: Um, yea. I'm kinda lost as of now, so I won't say anything.

Sorry for the wait. I'll try to update once a week, but I don't know how well that's gonna work. I might be able to update again Wednesday, though, cuz there's no school! Yay! I pity the sophomores and juniors who have to take the PSAT and PLAN that day. And maybe Friday, cuz that's when the floats for the homecoming parade are being made, and needless to say, I'm not going. Well, enough of my rambling. On with the show!

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A dark shadow slowly moved into Danny's room. Checking to make sure it's cloaking device was functioning properly, it moved about the room, seemingly looking for something. A dull metallic gleam caught its eye from under the bed, causing it to chuckle to itself Gleeful at the fact that the halfa was blissfully sleeping and highly unaware of its presence, the shadow floated past the two sleeping forms on the floor, grabbing at the object. It picked up the Fenton Thermos and floated out of the room, pressing a small button on the halfa's alarm on his way.

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_He was running from…something. He didn't know what. All he knew was he had to get away from it. Fast. He felt its presence, getting closer and closer. He couldn't run fast enough! It was catching up to him! It was—gone. Danny stopped and looked around for what had been chasing him, but all he saw was a greenish glow in the distance. He turned around and noticed he was in front of the school. Or at least what had been the school. Everywhere he looked he saw the destroyed city. He ran around, calling for his friends and family, but there was no answer, just echoes of his past…_

Danny awoke with a start, his dream immediately forgotten as he glanced at the clock, noticing that it was only 10 minutes before school started.

"Sam, Tuck, get up! We're gonna be late!"

His two best friends jerked awake, scrambling to get ready. Five minutes later, they were dressed and rushing out of the room. Danny grabbed his backpack, not noticing the absence of the Fenton Thermos, and rushed down the stairs after his friends, yelling "Bye mom, bye dad! See ya later!"

They slammed the door shut on an abnormally quiet house. None of them noticed the boxes lying in the kitchen near the overturned table.

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"Alright, class. Settle down. Today we are going to look at that classic novel by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men. I would advise you all pay attention, as you will have a five page paper due at the end of this unit on the importance of this novel to our society."

This announcement evoked groans from the entire class. Sam, Danny, and Tucker had barely skidded into Lancer's on time, only to be confronted with the beast of all novels. They exchanged disgusted looks before getting out their notebooks to take notes on Lancer's lecture about why the book was so wonderful. Sam pulled out one of her pages and wrote a note to Danny.

_Can you believe this? I can't believe he's going to make us write a five page paper on the importance of one of the worst books ever written! _Glancing up to make sure Lancer's back was turned to them, she tossed the note over to Danny.

_I know; I don't know how I'm going to find that many good things to say about a book. _Danny replied. _At least we got here on time. I wonder what happened to my alarm? I set it early so that we would have extra time to get here. And it was kinda weird that my parents didn't try to stop us on the way out. _

He passed the note back to Sam, glancing at the clock. 40 more minutes. Sighing heavily, he put his head in his hands, staring at his blank notebook. He was worried that he hadn't had time to put the Box Ghost back into the Ghost Zone, especially since his sister had gotten a hold of the Thermos. What if she had inadvertently let him out? He'd have no peace until he caught him. Again. Danny was jerked out of his thoughts as a piece of paper hit him in the head. He grinned sheepishly at Sam, who had been trying to get his attention for some time, and picked up the note.

_Don't worry. They were probably in the lab working on some new experiment. And you probably turned off your alarm in your sleep. You've been known to do stuff like that before. I wouldn't dwell on it. And I'll try to help you with your paper, if you want. _

He smiled his thanks and turned back to the front of the class. Lancer had moved on and was now talking about grammar.

The rest of class was a blur to Danny. He had almost fallen asleep twice, and had barely been able to answer Lancer when he asked what part of speech the word "had" would be. When the bell rang he rushed out of class to his locker and got his books, waiting for Sam and Tucker to meet him. They had just turned the corner when his ghost sense went off.

"Oh, no. Not now."

Danny looked around for the ghost, and was met by an unexpected sight. The Box Ghost popped into the hallway, scaring half of the students to hysterics. But that wasn't what he was looking at. The only thing Danny could see was the glowing cage floating next to the Box Ghost and the three terrified people who were trapped inside it.

"Danny! It's your parents and Jazz! Do something!"

He barely heard Sam yelling at him, and was frantically looking for somewhere to go ghost. There were so many people milling around that he couldn't just hope no one could see, and his family was staring at him, telling him to run before it was too late. Realizing he couldn't do anything to help his family as a ghost, he reached for the Fenton Thermos, only to realize it wasn't where he had put it the night before.

"Sam, Tucker, where's the thermos? I can't find it! I know I put it in here!"

His two friends had reached him and were helping him look for the thermos while the Box Ghost ranted about how he was finally going to get his revenge on the ghost boy for ruining his afterlife. Kids and teachers were running everywhere, trying to get away from the ghost, which didn't help Danny any as he tried to find the Thermos. One kid ran into the three, sending Danny's backpack and his hopes of finding the thermos flying into the crowd.

"Aha!" Danny spun around as he heard the Box Ghost's voice right behind him. "I have found your two little friends! Now I will trap them in my cubical container of doom and you will never see them again!"

"Danny, help us! Go ghost! Do something!" His friend's panicked cries reached him, but there was nothing he could do without the thermos; he couldn't go ghost either with this many people around.

The Box Ghost grabbed Tucker and Sam and roughly shoved them inside the glowing cage next to Danny's family, not realizing he dropped the Fenton Thermos on the floor. Danny grabbed it, but was too late to stop him. He watched helplessly as everything he had ever loved and cared about floated up through the ceiling, the cries of his family and friends abruptly cut off as they disappeared. He ran into the nearest bathroom to go ghost as soon as he lost sight of them and flew through the ceiling, only to find them utterly and completely gone.

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Bwahahahahahahahahah! I am sooo evil. So I'm sorry it's short, I thought it was gonna be a lot longer than this. But I got everything in that I wanted to. I think. So anywho, PLEEEEZ review! I won't update until you review! And reviews from siblings don't count. Sorry guys. So REVIEW or The Sleep Warrior will haunt your sleep until you do!


	3. Chapter 3

Yay! Reviewers rock my sox! 9 reviews for only two chapters! So here's the next chapter, since you guys were all so kind and wonderful. And because I don't have any school today (THANK YOU PSAT/PLAN!). Anywho, on with the replies!

**kristle**: Why thank you. Here's the next chapter!

**Jaina Kenobi**: Umm, yeah. Whatever. So are you gonna let Chewie come home? Huh? Huh?

**purpledog100**: Double yay to not making floats! And dancing? Who likes that? Stupid Homecoming. The only thing good about it is the game. Anyway, don't be too sure the Box Ghost is the only villain in the story…at least I don't think he is. But he's still got his spotlight moments, don't worry. I still don't have that part outlined yet. What part you ask? Well, you'll just have to wait and see….

**Lightning Streak**: Thanx! And sorry about the shortness. I'll try to fix it, but it's gonna be a bit hard with this chapter. There's not too much actiony stuff. But I'll try!

**Whif7**: Wow! Thanks a lot! That makes me feel so much better! And you're lucky I haven't updated yet, your review barely made it to my email. And thank you sooo much for reading and reviewing! I was sorta going for the episode feel. But I think this will turn out more movie length ish. Anyway, here's your update!

Now that that's done, on with the story!

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Danny frantically flew around the building, calling out their names, searching for any trace of the Box Ghost and his captives, but to no avail. They were gone. Vanished without a trace. Finally admitting defeat, Danny drifted back into the bathroom, changed back, and wandered back into the hall where he had last seen his family and friends. The students and teachers had clamed down considerably, and many had seemed to have forgotten all about the attack already. Except Lancer. Of course. The balding teacher rushed over to Danny the moment he emerged from the bathroom, exclaiming how glad he was that Danny had escaped the ghost. He ushered him into the principal's office to await the police, who would doubtlessly be of no help in the search. Danny didn't object to the elderly teacher's fussing, but was instead berating himself for not doing anything to stop the Box Ghost before he snatched his family and friends from right under his nose. Right as he was about to hit the bottom of the well of self pity, the police arrived.

"Where is the boy that escaped? We need to ask him a few questions."

They sent Lancer and the principal out of the office and started questioning him on everything he knew about the Box Ghost and his parent's history as ghost hunters. It was difficult to reveal much about the Box Ghost, since most of their encounters had involved Danny's ghost half, but they seemed to buy everything he told them. After a few thousand questions, the police let Lancer and the principal back in. They asked Lancer what he saw, but didn't get any new information from him. The chief turned to Danny.

"Well, Mr. Fenton, we will look into this kidnapping immediately. In the meantime, we will need to find a place for you to stay until your family and friends have been found. Do you have any relatives that live nearby?"

Danny only shook his head. He had no idea where he could stay. He had been hoping the police would just let him stay in his own house, and he knew Tucker and Sam's parents would never let him stay there, since their children had been kidnapped and he had been miraculously saved. Upon seeing Danny's denial, Mr. Lancer spoke up.

"The boy can stay with me, officer. I will personally see that he will be well taken care of. After all, who better to watch over him than his teacher?"

The officer considered his offer, then turned to Danny.

"Are you sure there is no one you could stay with?" Once again, Danny shook his head.

"Well, in that case I am putting you in Mr. Lancer's custody until they are found. We'll send some paperwork over later to finalize it. Good day, sirs." With that, the police left, leaving a very dejected 15 year old behind.

_Great_, he thought. _Now I can't even stay at my own house. How am I going to find them if I can't even get to the Fenton portal? And Lancer? Couldn't they have picked someone who actually likes me? _

Danny was pulled from his thoughts by the principal.

"Daniel, I am letting you skip the rest of school today, considering the circumstances. Mr. Lancer will escort you to your house where you can pick up the things you will be needing while your parents are, um, away. But I expect you to be in school tomorrow, no excuses. Understand?"

Muffling a groan, Danny nodded. Lancer handed him his backpack, which he must have found in the hallway after everyone had calmed down. With only a quick stop to pick up the rest of his homework, they left the building and headed towards Lancer's car.

The car ride was awkward, Lancer trying to comfort Danny (which he wasn't very good at) and Danny ignoring him while staring out the window at the passing sidewalk. When they arrived at Danny's house, he rushed inside without waiting for his teacher. Lancer shook his head sadly. _Poor kid. His friends and family torn away from him by a horrible, fiendish ghost. I hope the police can find them before… well before anything happens to them. _With that thought in his head, Lancer followed the boy into the house.

Danny rushed immediately down to the lab, hoping to get into the Ghost Zone as soon as he could and hopefully catch the Box Ghost before he got too far. Unfortunately, Mr. Lancer wasn't far behind.

"Daniel, I don't think you will be needing any of this at my house. Will you please go and pack some clothes and anything else you will _need_."

"Mr. Lancer, you don't understand! I'm the only one left who knows anything about ghosts! I have to go save them!"

Lancer didn't buy it.

"That's the police's job, Mr. Fenton. I want you to leave the search and rescue to the professionals. Is that clear?"

"But I am the professionals! My parents hunt and fight ghosts! Who better to rescue them than me? The police don't know anything about chasing ghosts; the only encounters they've had they ran from!"

"I'm sorry Daniel, but if the ghost captured your parents, who, as you claim, are professionals at catching ghosts, then you don't stand much of a chance, do you? This ghost must be pretty powerful to have captured them. Now go upstairs and collect anything you might need. And just to make sure you don't try anything funny, I am going with you."

"Please, you don't understand!" Danny pleaded. He couldn't let Lancer stop him. He just had to find the Box Ghost now before he got too far away. If he didn't find them soon….

"That's enough, Daniel! Now march upstairs! Move move move!" With that, Lancer herded his slouching student upstairs and hovered over him as he gathered the few things he would need for a "sleepover with the teacher."

_Oh, this is just wonderful_, he thought. _Now Dash has yet another thing to beat me up for, I'm rooming with the strictest teacher in the whole world, and the dumbest ghost in the Ghost Zone has stolen my family and friends and there's nothing I can do about it! How could I have been so blind? I saw it coming, but I let them talk me out of my worries. And now the Box Ghost is loose and apparently powerful enough to overpower both my mom and dad. _He paused slightly as he re-worded what he'd just thought. _Well, mostly my mom. But even the Box Ghost shouldn't have been able to capture my dad! How much worse could this possibly get?_

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The next day at school was worse than even Danny had imagined. Dash was constantly beating up on him, calling him "teacher's pet" and "coward" and mocking him for running away when the ghost had taken his family and friends. And to make things worse, Lancer called a school-wide assembly to tell everyone what had happened the day before. By the end of the day, Danny was ready to explode from anger and frustration. Since Sam and Tucker were gone, he had no one to hang out with at lunch except for Valerie, but both of them were pretty occupied with avoiding Dash and Nathan to talk much.

The minute school was over, Lancer dragged Danny to his car and drove back to his apartment. He never seemed to let Danny out of his sight for long, even at night. Lancer never seemed to sleep, and was constantly checking up on Danny to make sure he hadn't run off to his house to "cause mischief." Danny had tried to get back home the first night, but Lancer caught him right away. After that, Danny knew it was useless to try and escape.

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It had been a week since the Box Ghost had captured the Fentons and Danny's friends, and the police still hadn't found any trace of the Box Ghost or his friends and family. Lancer decided it was safe to let Danny hang out with Valerie for a while after school, but he insisted on staying near Danny at all times, "just to be safe."

"I can't get away from him! He's driving me insane!" The two friends were at the Nasty Burger, Lancer sitting across the room but still close enough to keep an eye on Danny.

"I'm the only one who could possibly save them, well, besides you, and I can't even get near my house because he's scared I'm going to go blow something up. You have to help me get away from him just long enough for us to slip into the Ghost Zone and find them!" Valerie took another bite out of her Nasty Burger and shook her head.

"I don't know how you're gonna get away from Lancer, Danny. He's been watching you like a hawk all week. It's a miracle there haven't been any ghost attacks recently, or you'd either have to expose yourself or do nothing about it. I'd go by myself, but there's no way my dad would let that happen, and I can't get into the Ghost Zone without you anyway, since your dad put that genetic lock on."

"Yeah, I know," Danny sighed. He had been grateful that the ghosts had decided to leave him alone for a while, but the continued silence was starting to bug him.

"You're going to need a pretty crafty plan to sneak away from him. I could get away pretty easily, since my dad knows about the ghost hunting thing and trusts me as long as I'm not alone, but you're going to have a pretty hard time ditching the teacher."

Both Danny and Valerie glanced at Lancer, who was still eyeing them suspiciously over his plate of greasy goodness.

"Don't worry, I think I have the perfect plan. But I'm going to need your help. And a lot of luck. Here's what we're going to do…"

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Hah! What's going to happen? What's Danny's superb plan? Well, you're going to just have to wait and see…. Anyway, how was the length that time? I know, not superb. But better, right? REVIEW! Or I won't update until NEXT weekend! If I get, say, five reviews, not including siblings (hint hint), I'll update this Saturday or Sunday. And if you saw ANY little mistake, tell me! I need to know. So review now, or else! Bwahaha! Oh, and by the way---Valerie knows about Danny, and Sam and Tuck have accepted her, blah blah blah. You get it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Fading Shadow:** Why thank you very much! And I must admit I'm still not sure if he will be the only villain, but he'll still have his spotlight time!

**kristle: **Gasp! How could you not know? Sorry, standard question. She's the girl with the red jumpsuit who chases and hunts Danny, but also goes to school with him. Don't know how else to explain her, really. Anywho, here's the next chapter! And thanx for reviewing so much!

**linkmaste: **Yes, your review does help. A LOT. Knowing people are actually reading and enjoying helps me get stuff out faster. Thanks for reviewing, and hope you like the chapter!

**purpledog100: **Yay! You reviewed again! That makes me feel wonderful! And Valerie knows because Danny's plan would be almost impossible to enact without her. And he needs her to rescue everyone and, well, be the distraction, I'm sorry to say. But it's true. Anyway, I won't spoil too much, so here's the chapter!

**CelloSolo2007: **Yeah, she does know. Sorry about the mix-up, but I had loaded a version of the chapter without telling people she knew, then took it off and re-did some of the chapter itself, plus I said she knew at the end of the chapter. If you didn't any of Lancer's thoughts when they get to Danny's house, you read the wrong version. Just to let ya know. But anyway, thanks for reviewing! It really helps me out. Hope I cleared some stuff up for you. Enjoy!

**Jaina Kenobi:** GRR! Why can't he come home? Anywho, yeah. Here's the next chapter.

**whiteraven12345: **Yay! Another reviewer! Thanks for the complimenty thing. Here's your update!

**not important:** Well thankyou! Extra much! I didn't ever think people would like it so much. And gratefulness is wonderful! Anyway, thanks for the review! It helps me get my chapters out faster. Yay!

**I Break For Ghosts:** Good choice. The older Box Ghost is especially ugly. And buff. That's just wrong. And I really loved the whole tire out of hell thing. I can't wait for your next chapter! Speaking of next chapters, here's mine!

**GrayPhantom:** Oh. I get it. That makes more sense. And thank YOU for reviewing mine! I'm soo excited that people are actually enjoying this! And I hate cliffies too, but ya can't avoid them. Oh well. That's life. Here's the chapter!

Wow. A whole page of replies. Well, now that that's over, here's your next wonderful chapter! YAY! And I can't believe you guys actually like this! Thanks!

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Mr. Lancer was keeping a close eye on his charge, especially since he had tried to escape the first night. Right now he was eyeing Danny and his only friend that hadn't been taken by the Box Ghost, Valerie, suspiciously over his plate of greasy goodness. The boy hadn't tried anything funny recently, but he was sure something was up, especially when they both glanced at him and started whispering. After a few minutes of hurried discussions, both teens took one more glance in his direction, where he was pretending to eat his hamburger, before walking in his direction.

_Hmm, I wonder what they're up to now_, Lancer thought. _They're probably going to confront me with some stupid story of them needing to go to Danny's house and get something Valerie left there. Well I'm not going to fall for it. _

He looked up at them just as they arrived at his table and waited for them to speak.

"Um, Mr. Lancer? Me and Valerie-"

"That would be 'Valerie and I', Mr. Fenton," Lancer cut in. The boy's obvious lack of grammar skills was no doubt gained from his constant naps in class.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. **_Valerie and I_** were just wondering if we could have a sleepover this weekend."

_What? No lame excuses to go to his house? _"And where might you be thinking of going for this sleepover? Your house?" Lancer was quite surprised by the response he got from the boy.

"Um, no, actually, we were wondering if it could be at your place, you know, so you could keep an eye on me and everything. Just to be sure nothing happened. So, could we?"

"I don't know if this is such a good idea, Danny. I-"

"Please, you don't know how much it would mean to me if you let us do this! Valerie was the only one not taken by the bo—I mean ghost, and it would help me forget what's been happening for a bit. We won't do anything bad, I promise. It'll be like we aren't even there."

Lancer carefully studied the two student's faces as Danny gave his little speech. Both teens seemed to be genuine, and he didn't see any reason to deny them a bit of reprieve from the pain of reality.

"Alright, you can have your sleepover. On one condition: That you don't leave my sight all night, unless it's to use the bathroom. Agreed?"

The two exchanged glances that Lancer couldn't decipher, but agreed.

"Good. So, what will we be doing tonight? I have some great ideas! This will be the best sleepover you kids have ever had in your life!"

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They were back at Valerie's apartment, getting everything she would need for the "oh so fun night with Lancer."

"Aw, man! I didn't think he'd join us! Sorry about that, Val."

"It's ok, Danny. I don't mind too much. As long as your plan works, which it better, then I won't have to suffer for long. You did contact him, right?"

"Yeah, last night. He was a bit reluctant, but he finally agreed once I told him what had happened. He said he'd show, so I'm holding him to his promise. And I know where to find him if he doesn't."

"Who said he would show where?" Lancer said. He'd just walked in caught the end of Danny's sentence, and was fiercely glaring at the two.

"Um, uh, Dash, uh, said he'd show up at the, uh, at lunch tomorrow to, um give me something important."

"What something? It better not be a weapon!"

"N-no, no! He, uh, didn't say what. But he did say it was really important."

"Oh. Well then, I will just have to be there to make sure he doesn't give you anything you could hurt yourself with, then, won't I?"

Danny sighed with relief as Lancer stalked out of the room to find a phone. He could hear him talking to Dash's parents about the dangers of bringing weapons to school.

"Woah, that was close. I'm going to have to be a lot more careful about what I say around him."

"Yeah, you're lucky he bought the whole Dash thing. What time is he going to show up?"

"About 8 or 9. Got you're ghost hunting gear?" At Valerie's nod, he got up to leave the room. "Good. We're going to need it before this night is through."

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"Yatzee! Woohoo! I win again! Who's up for another game!"

Danny and Valerie groaned at the prospect of another game. Lancer was dancing around the room waving the score pad above his head. He had won five games of Yatzee in a row, and Danny and Valerie were bored out of their minds.

"Is it almost time?" Valerie whispered to Danny. She wasn't looking forward to another game with the crazed teacher.

"It's 8:00. He should be here any time. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I've got my gear on and ready to go. Are you sure this is going to work? What if he blows it?"

"Don't worry, he won't" _I hope._

Lancer had finished his victory lap and sat down at the table. He looked at the bored faces of the teens, and put the game away. They were just about to get up and go to a different room when Lancer stopped them.

"Hey, I never said we were leaving this room. We're just switching games! It's Monopoly time!"

This evoked yet another chorus of groans, but they sat down anyway. Lancer set up the board and dealt the money. They had just rolled the dice to see who would go first when a green glow filled the room.

"Great Gatsby! What's going on here!" Lancer cried. The green glow consolidated into one area and formed into…. The Dairy King! (A/N: Weren't expecting that, now were you?)

"Well gosh and golly, it looks like I've finally found you two!" he cried out. Both Danny and Valerie pretended to be scared as the Dairy King started hurling different cheeses around the room. Lancer was running around wildly, trying to catch the Dairy King as he wove a web of Swiss around the two teens with his ice-cream-cone-topped scepter.

"Stop, you ghostly ghoul! I won't let you take these adolescents as well!"

The Dairy King tripped Lancer and started floating up towards the ceiling with his cage of Swiss cheese.

"Try the gouda! It's dairy fresh!"

With that he disappeared from sight. Lancer got up and rushed outside, but they were already long gone.

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The Dairy King released them on the top of Lancer's apartment.

"Well I hope I've helped you two out! I hope you are going to keep your side of the bargain and guide me back to my castle."

Danny went ghost and Valerie got her ghost hunting suit on.

"Don't worry, we're heading there now. Let's go!"

"Danny! You never said anything about Wisconsin! What about Vlad? And we would still have to get back here so we could get into the Ghost Zone! Can't this wait until we're done?" Valerie asked. Danny looked out over the horizon.

"No, it can't wait. He's our ticket into the Ghost Zone. We're going to use Vlad's portal." Danny took off towards Wisconsin without looking to see if they were following.

Valerie watched him fly off and sighed.

"Well, I guess he knows what he's doing. We'd better catch up."

With that she took off after Danny with the Dairy King following behind them.

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Ooh! Out of one problem and into another! I had no idea that the Dairy King was going to be in this story. I didn't even know what the big plan was when I started this chapter. All I knew was that it would somehow involve a sleepover. I was going to have Danny split and have his ghost half kidnap them, but that would have made Danny evil in the eyes of the town again, and I didn't want that. So I decided to put this chapter off and start another story. I was looking through my notes and noticed the Dairy King in them, and this just clicked. Hope you like it! The next chapter will hopefully be out next weekend. REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

Aww, you guys rock on ice! And if you can tell me where I got that from, you get extra stuff next chapter! Yay! But Jaina—you don't count. Sorry. Hint: It IS from a Nickelodeon show! And if you know the episode or what happened in it, extra extra stuff! Just another hint—not Danny Phantom. Sorry. I couldn't make it that easy!

**Jaina Kenobi:** Umm, thanx?

**whiteraven12345:** Yeah, it is. Which is why he didn't tell Valerie about it, cuz he knew she would have tried to talk him out of it. Anyway, thanks for the review! I'm really glad you like it enough to tell me you do and to ask q's. Thanx!

**I** **Break For Ghosts:** How in the world did a tire attack you? Is there some new ghost around that uses tires for his mischief? Hey, that's a good story idea. You should use it. Cuz I'd butcher it, and I don't have the personal experience that you do. And I won't say much else, cuz I think I did that in comp. class. Anywho, here's the next chapter!

**RavensDarkrose:** THANK YOU! You made my day. And my week. I don't think I can thank you enough. And I'm sure he's really happy, floating around with all of his friends. And I don't know if I can really do very good DxS. But I'll try. I kinda started in chapter one, but my sister told me it was kinda weird and I haven't put anything else in yet that would lead to that. If you have any ideas about how I could do that I'd greatly appreciate it. I think I sorta have an idea, but I'm not sure. Anyway, thanks for the review, even if you didn't really read it all. Here's chapter 5!

**A Fading Shadow: **Why thank you! I never thought this would turn out so well.

**The Great Susinko: **You know, using Vlad never crossed my mind. But that would have worked, but then this chapter would have pretty much no meaning at all and I'd have to change most of it. I really didn't know what to do with them escaping until I looked back over my notes and noticed I had wanted to use him in a story. And I'm glad you think I did Lancer right. I was a bit worried he was too, I dunno, not right. I can't really explain it. But I think you'll really like this chapter, so enjoy more unexpected twists!

**purpledog100: **Thanks for the name. I'll write it down somewhere so I can use it elsewhere, cuz I don't think she's gonna show up again in this story. But I couldn't find it anywhere. Which episode is it in? Anywho, here's the next chapter! And thanks for reviewing.

**DivineQueenYeiweh:** Yay! Another reviewer! And which fic is yours? I tried looking you up but it didn't find anything.

**kristle:** It's ok. I do it too. And I forget who people are all the time. Like Star. I'm always forgetting who she is. And I figured he let Valerie sleep over because he felt sorry for Danny and knew he wouldn't be letting either of them out of his sight for the entire night. Thanks for the review! Keep 'em coming!

Yeah, I know I've been forgetting this, but know it's true: I DON'T OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR ANY OF THAT STUFF! SO THERE.

And here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for….CHAPTER 5! WEEEEEEE!

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"Sam, Sam, wake up!"

She awoke to find Tucker shaking her shoulders, trying to wake her up. At first she wondered what he was doing in her house, when she remembered what had happened.

"Oh my gosh! Tucker! What happened! The last thing I remember is floating up through the ceiling of the school." Sam looked around her and saw the familiar green glow of the Ghost Zone. "And how did we get here?"

"I don't know, I don't remember anything more than you do. I think we're somewhere in the Ghost Zone, but I don't know where. I don't think we ever mapped this part."

"Thank you captain obvious, I know that! Where are Danny's parents?"

Tucker looked over his shoulder. "Over there. But be quiet! They haven't woken up yet, and I think we should talk as much as we can before they do."

Sam looked over to where Tucker had indicated. Both of Danny's parents and his sister were sound asleep in the opposite corner of the cage. His dad was cuddling his teddy bear and sucking his thumb, muttering about ghosts in his sleep. Sam couldn't help but smile at the sight, noticing how much Danny looked like his dad when he was asleep. Tucker pulled her attention away from the sleeping figures, shoving his PDA in front of her face.

"The only thing that doesn't make sense out of this whole thing is that the Box Ghost is the one who captured us. I mean, how in the world could he be smart enough to think of that?" Tucker was frantically looking up all he could on the Box Ghost, but of course nothing new was showing up. Sam sighed and looked out at the swirling green "clouds", if they could even be called that.

"I don't know, Tuck. I just hope Danny comes and gets us before his family wakes up. That could be disastrous," Sam said, thinking of what would probably happen if Danny's parents woke up to find themselves in the Ghost Zone, captured by the dumbest ghost of them all. Not a pretty sight.

"Is there any way to get out of this stupid cage?" Sam asked, looking at the metal bars.

"No, I already tried. It's completely human proof. I don't think there's even a lock. And it'd be pretty useless for us to escape. Didn't you notice the lack of ground beneath us?"

Sam gasped as she realized Tucker was right. She looked down into the distance, but all she saw was green, green, and more green. Backing away from the edge, she almost bumped into Danny's mom, who was sleeping peacefully next to her husband. She went and sat down next to Tucker, who pulled out a second PDA.

"Here, Sam. Help me look for anything that might help us." He dropped the PDA into her lap and focused back on his own.

"I'm not even going to ask why you have two of these with you," Sam sighed, but she took the PDA anyway and started her search.

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Mr. Lancer watched helplessly from his apartment floor Danny and Valerie were lifted screaming through his ceiling. He couldn't believe he had failed to protect the boy, even after he had kept such a close eye on him. He bolted up and out the door to the ceiling of his apartment building, but all he saw was three figures retreating into the distance.

_Poor kids, they escaped the first ghost only to be caught by a second. I wonder what's so important about these kids that ghosts are after them. It must just be their link with the elder Fenton's ghost research. I pity those kids. I wonder what happened to make the ghosts capture them all? _

Lancer turned and ran back down the stairs after the figures had disappeared from sight and called the police.

"Hello, Chief? Yes, this is Mr. Lancer calling about young Daniel Fenton." He paused and listened to the other person. "Yes, I'm afraid they got him too. And his friend, a Miss Valerie Gray….Yes, yes, both of them….No, it wasn't the same ghost. This one had an accent and cheese on his head…Yes, cheese. And an ice-cream cone on his scepter….NO, I'm not crazy! He really did have cheese on his head! ...But…"

Lancer slammed the phone down, frustrated with everything.

"Shirley Temple! Even the police won't listen to me! Oh, those poor kids." Lancer sat down and held his head in his hands.

Suddenly, he jumped up.

"I know what I need to do. I'm going into that Ghost Zone and rescuing those poor people from those phantom-like menaces!" (A/N: HAH! I knew you'd like that one.)

Mr. Lancer struck a heroic pose, lights flashing, hair—well, non existent. He grabbed the weapon he had borrowed from the Fenton's lab and rushed out the door towards the Fenton's house, his only thought being to save the Fenton's and Danny's friends. He didn't even notice the bright red eyes that him watched running off with pleasure.

"_Everything is going perfectly."_

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Danny swooped down into the park to check and make sure everything he would need was still in his bag where he had put it that morning. He had ditched his math class to go to his house and get what he needed for his trip into the Ghost Zone, but it wasn't easy. He had ended up using Tucker's disgusting recordings to throw Mr. Lancer off, telling him that it was just his nerves making him sick.

"Danny, what are you planning on doing! You can't just walk right into Vlad's house and expect him not to notice you!" Valerie was more than angry—she was pissed. Danny was taking way too many risks with this whole thing. He could easily just use his parent's portal, but he insisted on using his enemy's.

Danny sighed before answering. "Val, it's ok. I know what I'm doing."

"What, getting killed? I don't think that's going to save anyone."

"Valerie, just trust me. Please? I know this is going to work."

Valerie took out one of her guns and pointed it at Danny. "If you don't tell me what you're planning right now, I swear I'll drag you right back to Lancer!"

"Ok, ok. Just don't shoot." Danny sighed and motioned towards the Dairy King, who had been watching the exchange silently. "He's how we're going to get past Vlad." Danny looked up at Valerie as he said that and noticed her confused look.

"Vlad's ghost sense will go off when we get there, but he'll only see the Dairy King, so he won't suspect anything. We phase into the lab, use the portal, and we're as good as gold. Vlad won't know a thing."

"Why not just use your parent's portal? Wouldn't that be easier?" Valerie asked, still confused.

"Well, yeah, but it's got a round-the-clock police watch on it, plus it's the first place Lancer is going to look for us. I want to be as far away from Amity Park as I can before I get into the Ghost Zone."

Valerie looked at Danny skeptically. It could work, but it was still risky. Of course, he had a good point. There was no way they could easily use his parent's portal.

"Alright. I still don't like the plan, but I'll go with it. For now."

"Good, that's all I needed. Let's get going before it gets any later."

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Sam looked up as Danny's family stirred.

"Tuck, they're waking up! Stow the technology!" She tossed his PDA back to him and tried to look like she had just woken up. Jack woke up first, springing to his feet and shouting "GHOSTS!" He pulled out a gun from his jumpsuit and started shooting at the sky. Maddie jumped up and pulled the gun from him.

"Jack, be careful! There aren't any ghosts around, dear, sit down." She and Jazz, who had also been awakened by Jack's ranting, helped him to the floor. As they walked over to where Sam and Tucker were sitting, they herd him mutter "Stupid ghosts. And I didn't even get to finish my Ghostie-oh's." (A/N: hahahahahahaha! Sorry.)

"Are you kid's ok?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah, Mrs. Fenton. We're fine." Sam replied.

"Where's Danny? Did he escape? And what was that ghost talking about? I don't think I've ever seen him before, so I don't know why he'd want revenge on us."

Sam and Tuck exchanged glances before replying. "Um, yeah, he got out of there before the ghost had a chance to catch him."

"Well, I just hope he stays safe until we can find a way to get out of here." Maddie turned around to make sure Jack wasn't causing any trouble and took in her surroundings.

"Although I don't know how we're going to manage that." With that she went back to Jack and gave him some cookies to stop his muttering.

Jazz sat down next to Sam and Tucker.

"Have you been able to contact Danny at all?" she whispered. Both shook their heads 'no'. Jazz sighed and leaned back against the cage's bars.

"I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

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They had reached Vlad's mansion, and were getting ready to go into the Ghost Zone. Danny was giving some last minute instructions.

"Ok, Vlad's lab is up the stairs, second door to the left. Val, you'll have to stay with me so that I can make you invisible. When we're in there, no noises! If Vlad notices us we're dead. Once he dismisses it as just the Dairy King—"

"Just! I'm a king, there, don't ya know! I think I deserve a bit more respect than that!"

"Sorry. I only meant that Vlad doesn't hate you, so he won't attack you. He'll just let you go, since it was your house and everything. Anyway, we'll sneak past him and pop into the Ghost Zone undetected. Ready?"

Both of his companions nodded.

"Ok, let's go, and hope this works!"

They took off towards the mansion. Once inside, they cautiously floated towards the lab. Valerie was gripping Danny's wrist as hard as she could, hoping that they wouldn't get caught, but still in awe of the amazing size of the house. Of course his taste in decorating was questionable, but the sheer size of the house was breathtaking. They were just to the stairs when Vlad appeared out of thin air to confront the intruders.

"Aha! I always knew you'd join—oh, nevermind. I could have sworn I detected the ghost child."

With a disappointed look on his face, Vlad floated up through the ceiling. Valerie gave a little sigh of relief, but sucked it back in when Danny squeezed her wrist. They made it into the lab unharmed, and were just about to go into the Ghost Zone when Danny noticed something familiar in the corner of Vlad's lab.

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And I'm stopping there so that you guys can read this and I can do other stuff.

And to keep you wondering what he saw in the corner. So I have a few questions that I want you guys to answer: do you think Jazz should know Danny's secret? Cuz that one sentence where she says she hopes he doesn't do anything stupid could be taken either way. And do you think the dark and sinister presence should be a villain we already know, or someone I make up? Pleeez answer! I need help there before I can write the next chapter. And did you catch the phantom-like menaces? If you can tell me where that's from, triple extra stuff! And don't forget to tell me where the "on ice" thing came from. And Brittany—you don't count. Again. Sorry. I think. Anyway, REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6

**Boxghost228:** Thanks! And I had had someone tell me the principal's name, but we didn't know the right spelling. And that's the reaction I was expecting for the Dairy King. I'm glad people actually didn't expect it. And yeah, Jazz does know. I just accidentally asked it, but I did have a reference to that in chapter one. I just forgot about it. And yeah, I just couldn't think of what Vlad called him at that time, other than Daniel. And I didn't have time to look it up, cuz my update was late, and I didn't want him to say Danny's name. I really didn't think of that episode when I put the phantom-like menaces in there, but I think I already told you that in a review. Sorry it's so choppy. I was replying to all of your reviews at once. Sorta. Yeah…..here's the chapter!

**kristle:** Hah! You'll just have to wait and see what's in the corner! I was hoping that's what people would say.

**Tippi:** Oops, sorry about asking that! I was re-reading my other chapters, and I realized I had already put in that she does know, but he doesn't know she knows. Sorry for asking, but I had completely forgot that was even in there. But thanx for reviewing! Here's the update!

**not important:** But I love my cliffies! They keep you reviewing and reading! Sorry, but you'll have to wait a bit longer to find out what's in the corner. It's still in this chapter, but not the first thing.

**whiteraven12345:** Oops. Jazz does know. I put it in chapter one that she did. Sorta. But I totally forgot I had put that in there until I was re-reading my other chapters. And I'll think about the new ghost. So far that's what people want. If you have any ideas that'd be great! And thanks for the review!

**purpledog100:** Thanks for the info. And YAY! You knew! I don't know why, but that somehow wormed its way into my vocabulary and it won't go away. But that's ok, cuz it's original! Sorta. And it was Crash Nebula on ice, but whatever. Thanks for reviewing! Don't stop! Here's chapter 6!

**I Break For Ghosts: **The tire thing is freaky. It's kinda like when my back tire totally flew off my car when I had my permit. I was driving along at like 25 mph and the tire just flew off. It was really scary, especially since I'd only had my permit for like 2 months. And yes I do want to know why! Of course I love that about my stories too—I know what's gonna happen, but you don't! And I have attempted to make something like that. I ended up with, well, drawings. And not very good ones. But I would love that, cuz then it could take the images you're seeing and can't put into words and do it for you. And lately I've been writing really long replies and reviews lately, so they're starting to grow on me. And I'm starting to talk a lot more in real life, too. I'm becoming a chatterbox. And I do agree that projects are stupid. I just finished writing this essay on the whole Harriet Miers thing when she withdraws her appointment thingie and makes my whole paper pointless. But I had already written it and wasn't going to re-write it. Anyway, this is getting too long. Here's your update! And history rocks! Unless you're writing pointless papers.

(To the tune of following the leader from the cartoon peter pan from Disney) Oh what is in the corner, the corner, the corner, oh what is in the corner, I bet you'd like to know! Oh, you'll find out. But not yet. Bwahahahaha! Yeah, just to clear this up for everyone: Jazz knows. Sorry about the mix up, but I forgot that I had said something like that in chapter one. Oops. But the thing about the evil guy/girl still applies. So give me ideas! You guys seem to want a new ghost, so give ideas! Anyway, sorry it took so long to update. I had a major scholarship application due Tuesday, so I was caught up in that this weekend. Wow, that's long. So here's your chapter! And answers to the quiz thingie will have to wait, cuz I don't want to answer them right now.

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"What did you mean by that?" asked Sam. She looked at Jazz suspiciously, wondering if she knew Danny's secret. Jazz quickly looked down at her hands and inspected her nails.

"Oh, um, I just meant that he's probably going to try to come and save us, or something…" she drifted off, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand and looking at the greenness that surrounded the cage.

"Jazz? Are you alright?" Sam asked. She seemed really spacey and nervous talking about Danny. Jazz looked at her and was just about to answer when the Box Ghost appeared.

"I am the Box Ghost! The master of all things cubical and square. I have finally defeated the ghost boy, and will have my ultimate revenge!" He flew at the cage and inspected its defiant occupants.

"You will never get away with this! We will get out of here, and then you'll be sorry!" Maddie yelled. She picked up one of her weapons and fired it at the Box Ghost. It hit him squarely in the eye and sent him spinning off into the Ghost Zone.

"I am not done with you fools! The plan will be completed!" And with that the Box Ghost vanished into the distance.

"I wonder what that was about," Sam mused to herself. Shrugging off the nagging feeling that someone was watching them, Sam went and sat down next to Tucker to see if they could find anymore information on their current plight.

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Tucker was ignoring the two girls sitting on each of his sides. Not something he would normally do, but in this case he could make an exception, since they were his best friend and his other best friend's sister. He just pulled out his PDA and continued his research on anything he could find about the Box Ghost. There wasn't much. He had shown up in a few box stores across the country, but mostly hung out in Amity Park. There were a few facts on his habits, but nothing they didn't already know. He was just about to look up information on his lair when none other than the Box Ghost himself showed up.

"I am the Box Ghost! The master of all things cubical and square! I have finally defeated the ghost boy, and will have my ultimate revenge!"

As he got closer to the cage to inspect its occupants, Tucker noticed something different about him. He was bigger, stronger looking. Not much, but enough that you would notice if you looked closely. And his voice was cracking, which was freaking Tucker out. He looked at the others, but none of them seemed to notice the changes. He saw Danny's mom pull out one of her weapons and shoot the Box Ghost in the eye. Stifling his laughter he watched the chubby ghost go head over heels into the distance.

"I am not done with you fools! The plan will be completed!"

_I wonder what he's talking about? I don't think he could come up with much more than this. Unless it's somehow tied into his new looks. _

As soon as he realized that he could be right, he pulled out his trusty PDA and started researching how ghosts got more powerful.

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The dark and sinister presence watched the exchange between the Box Ghost and his captives.

_The woman could be a threat to my plan. I need to confine her before she does anymore damage. Not that the Box Ghost isn't replaceable, but they would become more suspicious if he disappeared. _

It smiled as it watched the dark haired girl sit down next to the young boy.

_But she will be useful. Very useful. _

It chuckled to itself and vanished to another part of the Ghost Zone.

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Vlad Masters transported into his library and floated towards his window. He could have sworn that he had sensed the young halfa, Daniel, but it was only the Dairy King returning from wherever he had been the past few days. Scowling to himself, he remembered all of the times the Dairy King had gotten in the way of his plans. There was that time at the reunion, where he had set young Daniel loose from his trap, and that time in Tahiti….but there really wasn't any way he could get rid of him, except obliteration, and Vlad wasn't ready to use that option just yet. There was still one last thing he had in mind the meddling cheese head.

He was pulled from his musings by one of his ghost vultures.

"Um, sir? There are invaders in the laboratory. The ghost child and his red friend are--"

"What? I knew I sensed him. Now will get Daniel to join me and renounce his idiot father!" Vlad sped off towards his laboratory, with the vulture rushing to keep up.

"But sir! You can't go in there! They have spotted the—"

"I don't care what they've seen! There is nothing Daniel can do to stop me. He's no where near my level of ability. I must hurry and capture him and his friend before they slip out of my hands. This is the perfect opportunity! I would be a fool to pass it up."

They had just reached the door of the lab and the vulture spoke up again.

"But you don't understand! The experiment wasn't put away! The halfa has the—"

But it was too late for Vlad to turn back. He took one look at Danny and cursed himself for his foolishness.

_Next time I must remember to listen to **everything** my servants have to say to me. _

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"Danny, look! Isn't that your parent's invention? What's Vlad doing with it?" Valerie cried.

Danny didn't answer. He just stared in shock at the ecto-suit his parents had made over a year ago. That was when the ghost king, Pariah Dark had tried to take over Amity Park. It was also the last time he had seen the suit. He remembered seeing Vlad and the Fright Knight, but he had never been able to figure out why they were together or where Vlad had taken the suit. He hadn't thought he would ever see it again. At least not until Vlad decided to use it to take over the Ghost Zone and the earth. He floated over to it and looked it over.

"Danny, look at this! It's Vlad's notes on the suit. It says he fixed the neuro-receptors. What are those?"

Valerie handed him some papers. Apparently Vlad had been busy the past year. Every bug had been worked out of the suit. He handed the papers back to Valerie with a huge grin on his face.

"The neuro-receptors are what powered the suit. They take your energy and magnify it like 10 times. Imagine my parent's shock when they find this back in the lab." He transformed back into his human half and climbed into the suit. He activated it, and giving one last look at Valerie, transformed back into Danny Phantom. The suit was immediately charged to 100.

"But didn't they say it could be fatal to use the suit? How do you know Vlad didn't make the suit so it would just use more of your energy faster?" Valerie asked. She looked at Danny skeptically, waiting for his answer.

"Don't worry. This is Vlad we're talking about here. If anything, he would fix the suit so that it used less energy, but more efficiently." He floated over to where Valerie had placed Vlad's notes.

"See? Right here it says he fixed the magnification part so that it would use less energy, but magnify it more. Here." He handed Valerie Vlad's notes. "Keep these safe so we can look them over later."

"But why do you even need the suit? We're only fighting the Box Ghost. It's not like he's any big threat."

"Yeah, I know, but I just have this feeling that I'm going to need it before we get home. Stupid, huh. And Vlad stole it from my parents in the first place, so I'm only doing them a favor by bringing it back."

Danny was just about to look around for other useful inventions he might be able to "borrow" when Vlad appeared in the doorway with one of his vulture minions behind him.

"Why Daniel, what a pleasant surprise. Come to check out my upgrades on your parents invention for them? I didn't know they were interested anymore."

Danny glared at Vlad's blatant lie.

"They never let you have this! You stole it!"

"Why Danny, I'm hurt. You don't actually think I'd steal something of your parent's, do you?" Vlad put on a puppy dog pout.

"Yeah, I know you would." Saying that, Danny released a small blue glowing ball of energy from the finger of the suit. He grabbed Valerie's wrist and turned her intangible, just in time to save her from the huge blast that knocked both Vlad and his vulture unconscious without even giving them time to react.

"Wow, Danny. How did you do that?" Valerie's face was pale from the shock of seeing such a small blast do so much damage. The lab was practically destroyed, except for the ghost portal which was around the corner.

"The suit magnifies the smallest of my power, remember? But I don't remember it being that powerful. Wow, those upgrades work pretty well."

They both stood there for a while surveying the damage, when Danny noticed that the Dairy King wasn't there anymore.

"Where'd he go? The Dairy King?" Danny looked frantically around the room for the cheese king, hoping he hadn't hurt him. He turned around at the familiar accented voice.

"Well gosh and golly, what did you do to my house? It looks like the cows ran through here!"

Danny sighed in relief. "Sorry about the mess, but it was the only way we could put tall dark and ugly over there out of commission for a while for you. Thanks for help!"

"Oh, no problem. Now I can do whatever I want for a while without having to look out for that creep. Thanks a lot!" The Dairy King floated up through the tall ceiling of the lab.

"Well, I guess we're off." Danny and Valerie exchanged wearied glances and headed into the Ghost Zone.

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So, now you know what was in the corner, and Danny got the suit back and totally kicked Vlad's butt without even trying. WOOHOOO! Sorry about the wait again. But it's here! And I'll still try to update again on Sunday. And Bitter Reunions was on and I missed it to get this to you! So be happy that you didn't have to wait yet another day to get this. And the on ice thing—I got it from that episode of the Fairly Odd Parents where Timmy tries to get money to go see Crash Nebula—on ice! They said that so much it just wormed it's way into my vocabulary. It started out being a joke, but it just stuck. And the phantom-like menaces—from The Phantom Menace, which is the first Star Wars episode. Jaina likes it a lot, so I put it in there for her. But it could be from that new episode with Youngblood, the Fenton Menace. Anyway, pleeez review! And I need ideas for the dark sinister presence. You guys want a new ghost, so I need ideas before the next chapter can go up! Like boy or girl! REVIEW! Or I'll haunt your sleep! Bwahahahaha!

the sleep warrior


	7. Chapter 7

Aww, come on you guys! Only 7 reviews for this chapter! Well, I guess it doesn't help that I updated Wednesday, but still! I was hoping for at least 10. Then maybe my updates wouldn't be so far apart!

**linkmaste:** Thanx for the review! And I don't think it's going to be Dan Phantom, cuz it's going to be—oops, can't tell. But I did get enough ideas to write it out. Here's your next chapter!

**Jaina Kenobi:** Hah! The ghost ghost. That's a great idea! I'll use him in a different story. I think I know where he could be useful. Thanx! And I don't know if the politician one would work anywhere, but I'll keep him in mind. More comic relief!

**I Break For Ghosts: **Yay Dairy King! I don't care if it's a long story! I wanna hear it anyway. Sounds randomly fun. Like me always insulting my friends within earshot. We have fun doing that. Ah, ya gotta love the randomness. It's what keeps us all, well, somewhat sane. There are times when we must be completely insane! Like earlier, with my brother. Wow, we were random. Anyway, thanx for the review!

**4everrandom: **Yay! A new reviewer! Yes! I'm glad you like this! So here's CHAPTER 7! (dun, dun, duuuun!)

**kristle: **Thanks! I'm glad you like it so much. I'm having issues with what's gonna happen between here and the big rescuy/fight thing. But I'll try my best to keep up with the other chapters. And thanks for the vote! It's really gonna help me with the next few chapters to know what people want.

**Boxghost228:** Sorry about the spoilers, but they're not quite done. Cuz there's stuff from TUE in there more than from Reign Storm. And you're welcome! Here's another advertisement for you!

**DannysGirlForever: **Yay! A new reviewer! I'm glad you like it. Here's chapter seven! Enjoy!

Well, now that my reply page is done, here's chapter seven. And sorry if these next few chapters are a bit shaky and not as good as the others. I haven't gotten this part mapped out as clearly as I would like, but oh well. And I LOVE flames! They keep me warm during the harsh winters, and in my cold basement where I watch Danny Phantom. So no matter what you have to say, PLEEZ review! I'm desperate here! But not as desperate as Boxghost228, who has a rockin awesome story, but almost no reviews. You should all check this story out! It may not have (much) Danny in it, but it will! And it's an awesome story anyway, even without Danny. I think I explain it better on my profile. Better yet, just read it!

Oh, yeah. I don't own Danny Phantom. That hurts.

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Danny and Valerie were silently searching the Ghost Zone with no luck. They had been flying around for more than a day, only stopping once to take a break on a small piece of land they had found. It didn't help that they had no idea where to look. They had visited the Box Ghost's lair, but it was obvious that he hadn't been there in quite a while. Danny had been so frustrated that he started blowing things up. Now they had no idea where to look, and worse, they had no idea where they were. Danny was still berating himself for letting his family and friends be kidnapped by the Box Ghost.

_I can't believe that the Box Ghost, of all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone, was the one who kidnapped everyone. And I just watched it all happen. Like a looser. I don't deserve to find them. If I can't even stop the Box Ghost, then I have no hope of beating the next ghost I come across. It's hopeless. We're never going to find them in time. And it's all my fault. I should have gone ghost. I should have saved them. And now I'll never see them again. Not mom, or dad, or Jazz, or Tucker, or….or Sam. Sam. I'll never be able to tell her how I really feel about her. How much I really love her. _

Danny shook his head, trying to chase the bad thoughts from his mind. He looked over at Valerie, hoping she was having some luck in locating the missing people, but she looked just as dejected and depressed as Danny felt. Sighing, Danny started looking again. After a few minutes, he noticed a white spot coming towards them.

"Valerie, do you see-"

"Yeah, I see it. What do you think it is? It's too big to be the Box Ghost."

"I dunno, but whatever it is, it doesn't look harmful." Danny replied. They both waited silently for it to get closer, hoping it wasn't going to attack them. When it got closer to them, Danny was shocked at what he saw.

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Lancer was lost. Utterly and completely lost. He had thought he could save everyone, thinking he was the only hope for the captives, but now he needed someone to save him. He had foolishly run off to the Fenton's ghost laboratory, stocked up their specter speeder, and taken off into the Ghost Zone. He hadn't even given any thought to the fact that the search could take weeks or months, not to mention he had no idea where he was headed. Fortunately he had enough food to last for a few months, as the speeder was well stocked, but he didn't know if his sanity would last as long. Especially since the only color he had seen for the past couple days was green.

The only good thing he could find about his situation was that he knew how to use every weapon on the speeder, but still couldn't figure out how to steer. And the cup holder seemed useless. No one used cups that big.

Lancer looked out of the front window of the speeder, hoping to see something other than green. He was surprised when he saw two figures ahead of him, one red and the other black and white, Even more surprising was the identities of the two figures: the red hunter and the ghost boy.

"Adventures of Huck Finn, what are you doing here!" he cried.

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"Mr. Lancer! What are you doing here?" Valerie cried without realizing she should have no idea who he is.

"How do you know me?" he asked suspiciously.

Valerie was saved from answering that when Danny zoomed into the speeder.

"Why did you steal my pa—I mean the Fenton's specter speeder? How did you get in to here?"

Lancer looked at Danny and stuttered a reply.

"I-I—I just wanted to save the Fenton's and Daniel's friends from that ghost! You're not in league with it, are you?" he said.

"NO! I'd never help the Box Ghost! You know, you really should leave the ghost hunting to the experts." Danny looked pointedly at himself and Valerie.

"But what good will it do you to save the Fentons? I thought you would be happy to see them gone. They can't hunt you now. What's in it for you?" Lancer asked.

Danny averted his eyes and answered. "Let's just say it's personal."

Lancer looked confused but didn't push it any further. "Alright. Well, since we're all here for the same purpose, why not help each other out?"

Valerie snorted as she entered the speeder. "And how are you going to help us, might I ask?"

"I know how to operate every weapon in here. The only thing I can't do is steer this darn thing," Lancer said.

Danny cut Valerie off before she could make another rude comment. "I know how to do that. Have you tried using the real world items radar to look for them?"

"I didn't even know there was one. That probably would have been good to know," Lancer mumbled.

Danny just smiled and took hold of the "cup holder", turning the speeder around.

Lancer just looked shocked. "How did you do that? That's just a cup holder!"

"It looks like a cup holder, but it's really the steering. That way d—I mean Jack can steer and drink at the same time more easily. At least that's what he told me."

Lancer was too dumbfounded to reply. Danny pushed a button on the panel and a holographic screen appeared in front of him.

'Real world items detected. Turn 47.45° to your right. Item is 3,543,531 km away.'

Danny groaned as the computer listed off the distance.

"Wow, we were off. It would have taken us ages to find them at the rate we were going, and that's only if the radar is picking up on their signals and not a trinket some ghost dragged into here."

He handed the controls to Valerie and headed towards the back of the speeder.

"I'll be right back. I'm just going to get out of this suit so there's more room in here. You'll be fine if you just keep the speeder straight."

He flew into the back chamber and transformed. Taking off the suit, he noticed how different it really looked. There were a lot more gadgets on the outside of the suit, but he had no idea what they did. And the suit itself had undergone a few changes. It was less bulky, and had a lot more weapons attached to it. Transforming back, he went back to the cockpit, got out Vlad's notes on the suit, and settled back into his seat, preparing for the long ride ahead.

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Sam was crabby, hungry, and very tired of listening to Tucker and Jack talk about their favorite foods. Right now they were sitting in the far corner of the cage debating the finer aspects of fudge. Not only were they making Sam hungrier than she already was, they were being really annoying. She, Jazz and Maddie were sitting in the opposite corner of the cage trying to tune the boys out. They had given up on trying to find out how to get out. The Box Ghost had come back a couple times to drop off some food, but it was tainted with ectoplasmic energy and they didn't dare eat any of it, and all of Maddie's cookies were long gone. Since Maddie had shot the Box Ghost in the eye, he now wore an eyepatch on his left eye and had put up a barrier around the cage that absorbed all of their shots. He was also a lot more powerful looking, buffer, and his voice was a lot deeper.

Sam got up and stretched, looking out on their green surroundings and hoping to see a familiar figure flying to their rescue, but she was met with emptiness. Not even the Box Ghost had visited lately, but Sam still felt like something was watching her. She had tried to tell Tucker about it, but he was too caught up in his longing for food. She turned to the lock on the door once more, hoping she would see something they had previously missed, but just as she suspected, there was no way out. And they would have no where to go if they did get out anyway. They were floating in the Ghost Zone, no land of any kind in sight. Sighing, she sat back down next to Jazz and Maddie and put her head in her lap. She didn't even notice them looking at her sadly, their haggard and thin faces reflecting the helplessness they all felt.

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Smiling, the dark sinister presence turned away from the 'window' it used to observe the Ghost Zone. It hadn't expected the boy to find the ecto-suit, or for his teacher to take the specter speeder into the Ghost Zone to search for the missing people, but those things could be worked around. They wouldn't have much effect on the outcome of its plan anyway.

A silent shadow glided up to the desk where the hooded figure was seated and motioned to the visitor in the doorway. The figure nodded to the shadow, and the visitor was escorted to the desk.

"Why have you disturbed me this time? You try my patience," the figure said, stroking the gray cat seated on its lap.

The Box Ghost gulped uncertainly before answering.

"Master, I have heard rumors that the halfa has the ecto-suit in his possession. Is it true?"

When the figure said nothing, the Box Ghost continued.

"If this is true, master, then I will not have the power I need to destroy him. I ask you to give me more!"

The figure looked up sharply at the Box Ghost.

"So, you do not trust my plans? Have I not made you ten times more powerful than you once were?"

Shrinking away from the desk, the Box Ghost nodded. The figure slid further into it's chair, considering the Box Ghost.

_Such a useless thing_, it thought. _I would love to destroy him here and now, but the humans would be suspicious if he was replaced. _

The Box Ghost had not moved from his spot and was still whimpering like a lost puppy.

"Will you cease that infernal whimpering! I have decided to grant you request and give you more power."

The Box Ghost started spewing his thanks, but was cut off.

"Enough! You did not let me finish. I will grant you these new powers on one condition: you must take the girl, the black haired one, and confine her separately from the rest. She will be quite useful to us. I have found that the boy is very attached to her, and she to him. It would be beneficial to both of us if you brought her here to my castle. Do this and I will grant you more powers."

With a wave of its hand the Box Ghost was dragged from the room, still uttering his thanks and assurances the task would be done as soon as possible.

The figure turned its chair around and returned to its viewing window to watch the Box Ghost. Everything was going to turn out perfectly.

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Ya know, I was gonna write more, but this is already a pretty good length, and I didn't want to bore you guys to death. I know, it's been forever since I updated, but it's been crazy around here, and when I did have free time, there wasn't enough for me to just sit down and write this. I can't write chapters in bits and pieces. Well, here it is! I hoped you all liked it. And read Boxghost228's story! And review! And review mine, too. I don't think there'll be as long of a wait for Chapter 8, cuz I already know what's gonna happen, since it was supposed to be the last half of this chapter. It'll be a bit shorter than this, but still a pretty good length I think. Well, I've rambled long enough. REVIEW or I'll haunt your sleep! I know there's a lot of people reading who aren't reviewing! I take annons! And flames! And just one or two words! PLEASE!


	8. Chapter 8

What? Only 7 reviews for this chapter? I knew they were getting worse and more boring, but I didn't think it was that bad! Yikes. I went from like 13 in chapter 3 to 7 for chapter 7! sigh Oh, and yeah, I know I'm supposed to reply straight to you guys, and I did. Just don't jump on me for these! They don't have accounts, either that or mebe they just didn't log in, but anyway they still didn't leave e-mails. Ok, so one did. But I'm at school, and I can't check my mail here! So I still want to reply to them, but I will reply to everyone else from the site. OK? OK.

**kristle:** Yeah, I know it was forever. But this one's sooner! Thanks yet again for being a faithful reviewer. Here's chapter 8! Yay! And yeah, I did watch Inspector Gadget. I never even thought of that, mostly cuz most bad people have cats, but theirs are white, not grey. Oh, and did you mean the cartoon Inspector Gadget or the movies? Just wondering.

**brittany :** Now I can't say that Brittany can't review anymore, cuz you're not my sister I'm afraid. So you can review. I'll just have to stick to saying Jaina can't review. Anyway, thanks for reviewing! And for the tip. Here's chapter 8!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, no matter how much I may want to…..but if I do finally invent that medicine that cures writer's block, I might be able to buy it from Butch Hartman! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

So, this wasn't such a long wait! I don't think I have much to say right now, except that I hope this one is better than the others, especially since you guys aren't reviewing and stuff.:) I'll just get to the chapter! Enjoy :D :P

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Chapter 8

The shadows threw the Box Ghost from the castle and turned back inside. The Box Ghost just glared at their retreating backs, mumbling to himself. After a few choice words thrown in their general direction (A/N: did you get it? (hint: M.P.) he, he!) he got up and flew off towards where the captives were being held.

_I can't wait until I finish off the ghost boy!_ He thought. _Then I be able to consume his power and will finally have enough to defeat my master and become one of the most powerful ghosts in the Ghost Zone! Master was foolish enough to give me all the power I want, and now that I have it I will be able to defeat any ghost that stands in my way! And no one will be able to stop me!_

He chuckled gleefully to himself at the thought, unconsciously speeding up.

_And I will be able to obliterate that lady-the one who stole my sight from me! She will pay dearly for her mistake! I think I will destroy her in front of the halfa—after all, what better torture than to see your own mother slowly killed! Of course I will have to capture him first-that shouldn't be too hard, especially with all of this new power._

The Box Ghost stopped his planning—he had arrived at the cage. The occupants were sleeping, looking very haggard and worn. He smiled to himself, noticing that in this state they would not be able to put up much of a fight even if they tried to stop him. He deactivated the shield around the cage and swooped in, grabbing the girl from where she sat in the corner. She stirred slightly, but did not wake up, much to the relief of the Box Ghost. He turned the shield back on and headed back towards the castle.

_Even if they are weak and helpless, I want to have as little trouble as possible with this. Master was stupid enough to do exactly what I wanted, and now that the girl is separated from the rest, I have yet another item I can use to torture the halfa._

He smiled and sped up, hoping to get his new powers as quickly as possible so he could get used to them before Danny arrived. When the castle was in sight, the Box Ghost slowed down, checking on the captive in his arms. She was restless, tossing and turning and muttering to herself, but was still asleep. The shadows glided out to meet him. They glanced at his burden and turned around, motioning for him to follow. He glanced up at the window in the tower and saw a hooded figure watching their small procession, but his view was soon blocked by the thick wall. He followed the shadows down into the dungeon of the castle. The shadows stopped in front of one of the furthest cells and disappeared. The Box Ghost placed the sleeping girl into the cell and locked the door behind him. He paused on his way out, looking into the cell.

_The ultimate revenge will be mine. _

He turned around and floated out of the castle, well aware of the presence that was watching his every move, and went back to the cage to await the arrival of Danny Phantom.

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_He was running from….something. He didn't know what. All he knew was he had to get away from it. Fast. He felt its presence, getting closer and closer. He couldn't run fast enough! It was catching up to him! It was—gone. Danny stopped and looked around for what had been chasing him, but all he saw was a greenish glow in the distance. He turned around and started seeing shadows from his pasts—when he first met Sam and Tucker, their first day of school together, the video games and days in the park. He realized he was walking in a long hallway filled with purple doors, and most of them were open. He saw himself in the Ghost Portal, getting his molecules rearranged. He saw the battle with the Lunch Lady, and with Skulker. He ran ahead, seeing more of his battles, and things he hadn't noticed before. During each of his battles, he watched his friend's faces. They looked so worried, especially Sam. He had never realized how much they cared before. After every blow he saw them wince, the worry growing in their eyes. He saw himself finally put whomever he was fighting into the Fenton Thermos, and their faces quickly turned from worry to relief. By the time he got back down to them they were more or less composed, Tucker complimenting him on his awesome work and Sam making sure he was alright. In every battle they rooted him on, making sure he had every advantage he could. _

_Danny kept running down the hall, but stopped at a door that was halfway open. This wasn't one of his memories—he wasn't even in the room with them. Sam and Tucker were sitting at a booth in the Nasty Burger, and they were talking about—him. They were worried that he might not come back from a battle. Sam was almost in tears, and Tucker was looking uncomfortably out the window. He looked at Sam, shocked that she would worry about him so much. His thoughts were interrupted when Tucker turned back to Sam and started trying to comfort her. _

'_Sam, it's ok. He's getting more powerful all the time. There aren't many ghosts left that can beat him.'_

_He saw Sam lift her head and look at Tuck. _

'_But that's just it—there are still ghosts out there that can beat him. Vlad is getting easier to beat, I will admit. But what about his older self, or Pariah Dark? The only reason Danny beat him in the first place was because he had the ecto-suit, and even then he almost killed himself! They're just so much more powerful than him, and I worry for him.'_

_Tucker gave a half-hearted smile. 'You really do like him, don't you?' he jested. _

_Danny could tell by the look on Tuck's face that he wasn't expecting the answer he got. _

'_Yes, darn it! I do! Are you happy now? I admit, I like him!' she violently whispered. _

_Danny reeled back from the scene, not believing what he had just heard. Was it just a dream? Or did this really happen? He tried to turn away, but seemed to be glued to the scene. _

_Sam lowered her head again and whispered, barely loud enough for both Tuck and Danny to hear. _

'_I love him.' _

_Danny felt himself being pulled away from the scene, but this time he didn't want to leave. He wanted answers. He wanted to know if that's how she really felt. _

_All of a sudden he heard a maniacal laugh behind him. He spun around and was faced with a floating figure, robed in a deep, blood-red cloak. The hood was pulled far over the figure's face, and the sleeves and bottom of the robe flowed beyond the figure's limbs. The figure was holding a sinister-looking grey cat in its arms with glowing red eyes. He automatically knew that this was the dark figure that had been chasing him. _

'_Who are you?' he asked. The figure just kept laughing, but it raised it's arm and snapped it's fingers. Danny gasped when he saw what had appeared next to the floating figure. _

'_Sam! What have you done to her!' _

_She was bruised and cut all over her body, and she had a gruesome scorch mark on her side. Danny tried to rush to her, but he found he couldn't move. _

'_Please, let her go!' he cried. He struggled against the invisible bonds that held him in place, but to no avail. The figure started disappearing into the mists, taking Sam with it. _

'_NO! Bring her back!' he yelled. The figure's laugh lingered, taunting him. _

'_Bring her back.' He whispered. 'Bring her back…'_

Danny awoke with a start. He looked around for the figure that had been haunting him when he remembered it was a dream. Or was it? It had seemed so real.

He shook his head and got up from the bed. He vaguely remembered floating back into his parent's bed 'area' to get some sleep, as it was way too small to be a real room. He had finished reading Vlad's notes on the upgraded suit, and had found that there were more gadgets on it than in the Specter Speeder.

Danny changed back into Danny Phantom and floated through the door into the cockpit. Valerie was still driving in the right direction, and Lancer was snoring in the corner. Valerie turned around and smiled when she saw him.

"Hey, sleepy-head. How was your nap?" she asked.

Danny frowned and looked at the radar.

"How close are we?" he asked, ignoring her question.

Valerie gave him a worried look, but checked the calculations.

"About 15 more minutes, I'd guess. I was going to wake you up when we had 5 left, but you saved me the trouble."

Danny didn't answer, but sat down in the seat between his two companions. He stared grimly out the window towards where he knew a very difficult battle would take place.

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Sam blinked open her eyes, expecting to see the now familiar surroundings of the Ghost Zone. She sat upright when she realized she wasn't in the cage with everyone else. Looking around her, she saw a very small room that had dark, damp walls that were oozing green goo. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she noticed the rank smell of what she assumed to be a cell. _Smells like Tucker's lunch,_ she thought with disgust. She was sitting on a small pile of damp, dank, rotten straw that was heaped in one of the far corners.

Realizing the others might be nearby, she got up and rushed to the door.

"Tucker, Jazz, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton? Is anyone there? Can you hear me?" she yelled.

She strained to hear an answer, but her cries were met with an eerie silence. Sam shivered and looked back at her small cell. There was a small barred window on the other side which offered a limited view of, what else, green, green, and more green. She walked over to it and peered out, vainly hoping to catch a glimpse of something other than the strange green surroundings of the Ghost Zone. Seeing nothing of interest, she sighed and leaned on the windowsill.

_I wonder where Danny is. Is he looking for us? Of course he is, he's our friend. Unless… _Sam gulped at the thought, pushing it from her mind._ No, he's better than that. He wouldn't let that happen. He's coming, I know it. I know it. _

She was pulled from her musings as she heard a malicious chuckle behind her. Whirling around, she saw a floating figure, dressed in a long, flowing, blood-red cloak from head to toe. Its hood was up, and it was just staring at her, arms crossed, holding a grey cat with red eyes.

"Who _are_ you?" Sam asked. The figure didn't answer, just kept floating near the door. Sam tried again.

"What do you want? Where am I?" The figure motioned for her to have a seat, but Sam just glared at her defiantly and stayed where she was. Shrugging, the figure moved a bit closer to inspect its captive.

"My dear, do you not know who I am?" it asked. Sam shook her head, immediately suspicious of the figure. She couldn't tell who, or what it was, from the voice. It sounded too liquid and smooth to be trustworthy.

The figure seemed surprised, but backed off at this gesture, still chuckling to itself.

"Hmmm, that's quite interesting, as we have met before. But introductions can wait for later. Or never, it doesn't matter to me, seeing as you won't be alive much longer anyway."

Sam stared in shock at the figure before her.

"What do you mean? Why do you want to kill me? What have I ever done to you to deserve this? I don't even know you!" she yelled, her violet eyes flashing with anger.

"No, you haven't done anything to me. But your boyfriend has", it said.

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" she yelled. _Although I wish he was. Wait, did I just think that? _She glared at the figure, who was watching her with interest, stroking the cat in its arms.

"Really? I never would have guessed. Considering the way you two act around each other, anyone with half a brain would think you two were together. But you will still be useful to me, the link between you and the halfa is stronger most I have seen. And when he finally shows up, he will be walking into one of the most well-planned traps either world has ever seen!" The figure laughed maniacally at this statement, floating higher into the air.

"What are you going to do with us? Why are you doing this?" Sam asked.

"Why, to get the ultimate revenge on Danny Phantom, of course! He ruined my life, if not indirectly, and he will pay! When he is finally in my grasp, he will watch everyone he loves be slowly tortured and killed. But that's not the end of my plan, oh no. I will chain him into this exact cell, this cell, where he will see everything he cares about destroyed, for all eternity!" The figure continued its laughter, and the cat hissed viciously at Sam. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She could feel the anger and hatred bubbling up inside her, and she rushed at the floating figure.

"NO!" she yelled, jumping on the figure. The cat leaped from its arms, and the figure blasted Sam in the side.

"Foolish girl! There is nothing you can do to stop me!" The figure leaned over Sam, and its hooded features were the last thing she saw as she slipped into unconsciousness.

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Tucker was having a most wonderful dream. There was meat everywhere, and he had all the technology in the world at his disposal. _Life is good._ Just as he was about to start eating a huge, wonderfully juicy steak, he was woken up by frightened screams.

"Sam! Sam where are you? SAM!"

Maddie and Jazz were yelling for Sam. At first Tucker couldn't figure out why they would be yelling for her—they were in a cage after all. But looking around, he realized Sam wasn't there.

Jumping to his feet, he ran (which wasn't too horribly far, considering their situation) over to where Maddie and Jazz were fruitlessly yelling for Sam.

"What happened? Where's Sam?" he yelled. Maddie and Jazz looked at Tucker, tears streaming down their faces.

"She's gone. When we woke up, she wasn't there. You don't think she, she, deserted us, do you?" Jazz asked.

"No! She would never do that. The Bo—I mean that ghost probably took her somewhere else while we were sleeping." Tucker sighed in relief when they didn't seem to catch on to his almost-slip-up and accepted his answer. By now Jack was awake and ranting about ghosts, but this time it wasn't random ranting.

"Why when I get my hands on that ghost I swear I'll rip it apart piece by piece for hurting my family like this! You hear that ghost! I'll get you for this!"

Tucker looked at his best friend's dad with pity, shaking his head at the uselessness of that proclamation. He turned around towards the emptiness of the Ghost Zone, hoping to see anything other than green swirls. He imagined he could see a white dot rapidly approaching the cage and its inhabitants, but knew it wasn't possible. He blinked the image away, but was surprised when he saw it was still there.

"Uh, guys? Am I seeing things, or is something coming this way."

Jazz, Maddie and Jack rushed over to where Tucker was standing.

"I see it! I see it! Someone's coming to save us!" Jazz squealed.

Maddie squinted at the white speck.

"Jack, isn't that the Specter Speeder?" she asked.

Jack's reply was drowned out as Tucker started jumping up and down, wildly waving is arms around in the air.

"It's Danny! It's Danny! He's coming to save us! WOOHOO!"

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Danny was still squished between his sleeping teacher and former enemy, intently watching the radar as the distance shrunk between them and what they hoped to be the missing people.

"Danny, look ahead! What is that?" Valerie asked. Danny's head jerked up, and he squinted at the dark speck ahead of them.

"I'm not sure, Val. I can't tell from this distance."

They both stared at the object, and Danny started laughing when the blotch of yellow started moving up and down.

"It's them! We finally made it! Hah, look at Tucker! He's probably starving." Danny shook at his teacher, waking him up.

"We made it! I'm going to go get the suit on in case there's any trouble. Be prepared for anything."

Danny rushed into the back of the Speeder and put the upgraded suit on. He glanced at the picture of his family and friends in front of their house, smiling at the thought that they would soon be reunited and safe. He felt the speeder stop and flew out of the speeder to where Valerie and Lancer were being bombarded with questions and thanks from the hungry and haggard captives. Maddie gasped when she saw him floating behind Lancer.

"YOU! I should have known you'd be behind this! Why did you capture us, and where did you get that suit?"

Danny stuttered, realizing he hadn't thought they would think he was one of the bad guys. He was saved from trying to concoct a plausible explanation by Lancer.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Fenton, the boy actually helped us get here. If it wasn't for his knowledge of the Speeder and the Ghost Zone, we would still be looking for you. And he says he and the red hunter here have been looking for you since you disappeared."

Maddie looked stunned, unsure what to think of what had just been one of her greatest foes.

"Is it true? Why would you try to save us? We've only ever chased you and hunted you. Why?"

Danny gulped before answering. "Well, I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do this. You don't deserve this kind of treatment, and no matter what you may think of me, I still don't wish any harm on you. And I never did."

Maddie smiled at him with thanks, and started helping Lancer with the lock. Danny moved over to the other side of the cage, motioning Tucker to follow behind him.

"Danny, dude, what took you so long! We've been stuck in here forever!" Tucker whispered.

Danny moved a bit closer, but was pushed away by the anti-ghost shield the Box Ghost had put up around the cage.

"Never mind that, Tucker. Where's Sam? Why isn't she here with you guys?"

Danny watched Tucker hang his head sadly, leaning in to hear his answer.

"She's gone, they took her away. We woke up this morning, well, I guess it was morning, and she was just gone. I-I-I don't know where they took her, Danny. She was just—gone."

"What?" Danny hissed. He couldn't believe it. If he had just been able to get away from Lancer sooner, this wouldn't have happened. Sam would be here with them and they could all get away without the Box Ghost noticing. He couldn't imagine spending more time in here to find Sam, if only the Box Ghost hadn't taken them! If only he had done something to save them before any of this had happened! If only—

"Danny, Danny! Are you alright? Snap out of it!" Tucker was waving his hand in front of Danny's face, trying to get his attention. He was just about to throw one of the hard pieces of cheese left by the Box Ghost when a maniacal laughter filled the area.

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Wow, that took forever. Nine pages, that's a new personal best! And I'm sorry it took forever and a half to get this up, but it just wasn't wanting to be written! I tried and tried, but it was stubborn and wouldn't get out of my head and onto the screen. But it's up, and that's all that matters. I hope chapter 9 doesn't take as long to get up, but I do have finals soon so I should probably study for those. Expect an update by, lets say, the 19th. But maybe later. I dunno. Anywho, I hope it was worth the wait, even though it's super boring and I hate it. Why? It was hell to write (pardon the language, but it was) and nothing really happened. So the action and fighting will start up again next chapter, promise. So now it's your turn to make me happy by reviewing. I updated, so it's only fair that you review! GO GO GO!

Tired and pooped, the sleep warrior


	9. Chapter 9

Hey all! So, here I am, with another chapter. And I'm sorry for the wait, but finals were killer. Yuck. But I'm still alive. For now. And I just kept forgetting to write this. Heh, heh. Don't be too mad! Please! Let's see here, chapter nine, chapter nine. What was it supposed to be about again? The last chapter after all the fighting? Oh, ok. Here it goes! Enjoy!

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Danny slowly opened his eyes, and—what was that? Wrong chapter! Oh, sorry. So I HAVEN'T done the fighting yet. Oh. Ok. ;) hah, got ya there. Ok, so maybe I didn't, but I came close! I think. So is this enough random rambling for ya? Cuz I don't have anything to say, so enjoy the chapter! Oh, and I now I'm not supposed to do review replies, but live with this one. She didn't leave an email address! So live with it.

**kristle:** I'm glad you got it! I think you're the only one who did. Well, there was one other person, but yay! Someone noticed! Yay Monty Python! And you'll just have to wait to see what I do DxS – wise. But there is DxS, I'm just not gonna say how much. For the Inspector Gadget movie, it was ok. I think the cartoon was way better, but the original always is, isn't it? Thanks for reviewing all of my chapters! I'm glad someone is besides my sister. :D :P Here's chapter 9 for ya!

Ok, now that that's done, on with chapter nine! And I hope you like it. Oh, yeah. I'm back-tracking a bit to before the laughter started, so that I can get all of this in. Just fyi, so you don't all yell at me for back-tracking and confusing the poop out of ya. And I'm only using two POV's in this—Danny's and Maddie's. Well, I think that's all I'm doing.

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Lancer and Maddie were frantically digging at the lock, trying everything they could to get it open, but it wasn't budging. Maddie sat back with a sigh of frustration.

"It's not working. I don't know how we'll ever get out of here."

Lancer looked up at her from where he was squatting. "Don't worry, Mrs. Fenton, we'll have you out of here in no time! Why, you've made it this far already, and with the help of Phantom over there we'll be sure to get out of here!"

Maddie turned and looked towards where Tucker and the ghost boy were deep in conversation.

"I still don't trust him. I mean, he tried to hurt our mayor! And he almost destroyed last year's Christmas, too! And how in the world did he figure out how to work our speeder? He must have been the one who put all of those uncharted miles on it. What reasons, besides being here now, has he given for us to trust him? How do you know this isn't some part of his plan? And what about Danny? Why isn't he here with you?"

Lancer's head shot up and looked around the cage.

"They're not here? Grapes of Wrath, I hadn't even noticed! But if they're not here, then where are they?" he mused. Maddie gave him a strange look.

"Who are you talking about?"

Mr. Lancer looked at her face searchingly. "Danny and Valerie were captured about three days ago by a ghost with cheese on his head! You haven't even seen them?"

Maddie reeled back from Lancer with shock. "Captured? But I don't understand it. They weren't captured with us! They were both right there when it happened. Do you think he—" she stopped and looked toward Tucker and "Phantom". The ghost was staring off into space with a look of shock and dismay on his face, and Tucker was leaning down towards a piece of old, hard cheese that was sitting on the bottom of the cage.

Maddie's mind was reeling with questions. _Tucker was so excited when he saw the speeder coming, he thought Danny was coming. But it turns out Danny was captured too, and Tucker doesn't even seem to be phased by the fact that his best friend isn't here. Phantom surely told him what happened as soon as Tucker found out they weren't in the speeder, but he's chatting with that ghost like, like they've known each other forever. _

She was pulled from chasing her thoughts by a maniacal laughter that seemed to fill the air. She spun around and was faced with a tall, floating figure wearing a long, flowing deep blood-red cloak and hood shrouding its face. She could see glowing green eyes inside the hood, but she couldn't see any facial features. The figure was holding a small grey cat in its arms, stroking it with its hidden hand. The cat seemed to be laughing at them as well; its deep red eyes seemed to be cutting into her very soul. She heard the people around her gasp and stumble, but no one seemed to be able to do anything about it. No one except the ghost boy.

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Danny looked up and saw the figure that had been haunting his dreams. The one that had Sam. He jumped into a defensive position and glared at the floating figure.

"Where's Sam? I know you have her! Where is she!"

The figure floated towards him and stopped it's cackling.

"Aah, I see you remember me. And as for your little girlfriend, she's, well, let's just say she's a bit…busy at the moment."

Danny snarled at the figure and lunged, throwing ecto-blasts left and right. "DON'T YOU HURT HER!" he yelled. The figure just disappeared, the laughter lingering in the air. Danny stopped in his tracks, looking around.

"Did we get rid of it?" he mused. He was answered when he heard the laughter resume behind him. Spinning around, he saw the figure grow in front of him.

"Fool, you cannot beat me that easily! Minion! Get me Danny Phantom." It flicked its wrist, and the Box Ghost appeared next to it. Danny stared in shock at the Box Ghost. _Oh my gosh! What happened to him? He looks like he did when…when my evil self ruled the world. How did he get so powerful so fast? It's only been a week or so since I last saw him. _

He glanced at the cage and saw the shock on Valerie's face, even through the mask. Neither of them had been expecting this. _But it's only the Box Ghost. He shouldn't be too hard to beat. That ghost must not be very smart if it thinks the Box Ghost can beat me. This'll be easy. The last time I fought him like this I was tied up, he shouldn't be a problem. _

He wiped the shock from his face and got into a defensive stance, ready to avoid anything the Box Ghost might throw at him. He called out to the figure behind the Box Ghost.

"Hah! Is this the best you can throw at me? A box-obsessed ghost? You have got to be kidding me!"

The figure floated forward a bit. "Oh, but he's no longer that weak pathetic specimen you used to fight. I have given him more power than he could have ever hoped to gain on his own. Now you will suffer defeat at the hands of one you once scorned!"

The Box Ghost advanced on Danny, readying a pink glowing cube-shaped blast in his hand. Danny wondered how powerful the Box Ghost really was. He dodged the first two blasts fairly easily, returning a few of his own. _Definitely not as powerful as tall dark and stupid over there is making him out to be. _

Just as he thought that he immediately saw how wrong he really was. The Box Ghost started to glow, expanding and growing before their eyes. He started pummeling him, and then threw a huge blast that knocked him off of his feet. He flew backwards and slammed into the ghost shield protecting the cage. He heard Tucker gasp behind him, murmuring to himself.

"Woah, maybe it's got something here," he muttered. He barely avoided another attack from the Box Ghost, who was throwing more and more powerful blasts. Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, Danny fired his own attacks at the Box Ghost, throwing him back several feet.

"Your puny blasts cannot defeat me, for I am the Box Ghost! Master of all things cubical and square!"

Unfortunately for Danny, it looked like the Box Ghost could be right. He was throwing blast after blast, never giving Danny time to return attacks. _Oh this is just great, _he thought. _He's beating my butt, and there's nothing I can do to stop it! _He suddenly dodged another attack, only to be hit by a second. _I can't do this on my own! Where's Valerie?_

"VALERIE!" he yelled. He glanced over to the cage, where she was guarding the others. He could tell she wanted to help, but wasn't sure if she could leave them alone safely, especially Lancer. Seeing her reluctance, he called out again.

"Don't worry, they can—woah!—take care of themselves! OOF! I need you to—yikes!—help me!" Just as he got out the last words, he was thrown back by a huge blast from the Box Ghost. Uprighting himself, he shook his head and faced the Box Ghost. Valerie still hadn't moved to help him, and he wondered if she was under some sort of spell. They floated in front of each other, taking a breather and waiting for the other to move first. Danny was readying a huge blast in his hand when the Box Ghost was suddenly knocked out of the way. Looking up, Danny smiled when he saw Valerie's smoking gun.

"Just waiting for the right moment," she said. "Let's get 'em!"

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Maddie watched the ghost boy easily avoid the first few attacks thrown by the other ghost, returning a few very powerful attacks of his own. Seeing that he appeared to have the situation under control, she turned her attention back to the lock on the door. Lancer was still working away at it, but to no avail. There just didn't seem to be any way to open the door. Looking up into her husband's face, she saw him watching the ensuing battle with shock and confusion.

"Jack, what is it?" she asked. "You look horrified, dear, why—" she stopped suddenly as she turned around and saw what had put that look on his face. The Box Ghost was pummeling Phantom, not even giving him a chance to fire back. She watched in horror as he slammed into the shield around the cage, muttering to himself as he got back up. Barely avoiding another attack, the ghost boy fired at the Box Ghost, throwing him back several feet.

"Jack, what if he doesn't win? Will we be able to get out of here?" She didn't expect an answer and didn't receive one.

"Your puny blasts cannot defeat me, for I am the Box Ghost! Master of all things cubical and square!"

The ghost started hurling shots again, not giving his victim any chance to retaliate. Maddie gasped in shock as he was pounded again and again. She had never really trusted or liked the ghost, but for some reason it felt wrong for him to be hit so much. She felt connected to him somehow, like she did to her own children when they were in trouble. She felt she had to help him, but there was no way she could until she got out of the cage. But the ghost boy wasn't done yet. Even while he was being pummeled, he called out to his partner. "VALERIE!"

_Wait, Valerie? That's the same name as Danny's new friend. And the ghost boy and the hunter only just became friends. _Maddie stared at the ghost hunter, who appeared to be frozen to her board.

"Don't worry, they can—woah!—take care of themselves! OOF! I need you to—yikes!—help me!" he yelled. Maddie saw the hunter still unmoving, seemingly willing to let her partner get pummeled. She looked back at the fight. Both of the ghosts were staring at each other, waiting for the other to move.

Suddenly, the Box Ghost was thrown back by a pink blast, followed up by the ghost hunter. They looked at each other and simultaneously started firing on the Box Ghost. Maddie noticed how well they worked together, when one was firing the other was distracting. She spared a glance at the figure floating a ways off. It didn't seem to notice Lancer working on the lock, or any of the occupants of the cage. It was just watching the fight unfold, thoughtfully stroking the cat in its arms. It wasn't making any move to send in reinforcements or help sway the fight back in its favor, it was just floating, observing.

_If this figure want's to have revenge on Danny Phantom so badly, why is it not doing anything to ensure that? Maybe it's waiting to wear him down so it can capture him. But he looks fairly beat, even with the ecto-suit. Why isn't it doing anything?_

Turning her attention back to the fight, Maddie saw that her short thoughts had taken up more time than she had thought. The fight was pretty much done, the ghost hunter had her gun trained on the Box Ghost, who was cringing in front of her, and Danny Phantom was panting behind her, trying to catch his breath.

"Alright, ghost, you're through! If you even think about moving I'll blast your brains out!" the ghost hunter screamed. Maddie still couldn't bring herself to call her Valerie, even if that is what she heard Danny Phantom call her. "Now why did you capture them? What in the world possessed you to do something as stupid as that?" she asked him. The Box Ghost was about to answer when the figure spoke up from behind them.

"Because of what you destroyed, Danny Phantom. You destroyed my entire future, everything I had ever wanted is gone because of you."

Danny straightened his back and looked at her confusedly. "But I've never even met you before! How could I have destroyed your future if I don't even know who, or what you are?" he asked.

Maddie gasped when the figure floated closer and threw back its blood-red hood, revealing a beautifully deadly face. Smooth, long, brownish blond hair flowed out of the cloak, falling down to the middle of her back. Her glowing green eyes were framed by long eye-lashes, and her high cheekbones were flushed with rage. She held her head defiantly and pointed a long, slender finger at him accusingly.

"You fool! Do not insult me, for I am Aradia, the goddess of the seven ghost witches, and I have the power to destroy you where you stand!"

_Who is this ghost? Her voice is so golden, if she was talking to me I'm sure I'd do whatever she told me to. What has Danny Phantom gotten us into, and if it's after him, why did it capture…us?_

"Sorry, I think," he said. "But I still don't understand what I did to you!"

"As the goddess of the ghost witches, I can see into the future. I was the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone, next to my husband, and together we ruled the world without opposition! I gave him more power, and he in return made me next to him alone in rank and strength! But you destroyed it all when you changed your future, depriving me of my husband and power!"

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_When did I change my…..future! Oh my gosh, she's talking about my evil self! I married her? Eew! _

"Danny, what's she talking about?" Valerie whispered. Danny shook his head and turned back towards Aradia.

"But if you wanted revenge on me, then why did you capture my—I mean these people? They have nothing to do with this fight!"

Aradia grinned at him. "Because I want you to suffer as much as I will. When you changed your future, you changed mine as well. I was to be one of the most powerful ghosts in the world, and now I am doomed to an eternity of anonymity! I will never become so powerful, and it's all because of you! So I decided to change your future again. I had this pathetic excuse for a ghost capture all who you held dear so you could watch them die one by one! But my plans have changed. You may be able to save your family and friend, but you will never save your girlfriend!"

With that said, Aradia cackled gleefully and started to fade into the Ghost Zone. Danny rushed at her, fruitlessly trying to stop her.

"NO! SAM!" But Aradia was gone, taking all Danny's hopes of ever seeing Sam again with him. He turned back to the shocked faces of his companions, but ignored them as he floated back to the speeder. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he barely noticed the little black box that was floating in front of him until it hit him.

"What the…" he murmured. Looking at it, there were two buttons: on and off. "I wonder what this is for." He pressed the on button, and nothing happened. He moved his thumb over the off button, and just as he hit it the green glow surrounding the cage disappeared.

"Hah, just like the Box Ghost to be so careless as to loose the controls to his own ghost shield." He swooped down into the cage and phased everyone out of it and into the speeder, Lancer and Valerie following right behind him. He set his parents, sister and friend on the floor and backed up. They were all just staring at him, but mostly Maddie and Lancer and Jack. They seemed confused, scared, but thankful.

"Um, yeah, I'm going to go get out of this," he said nervously, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Be right back."

He floated into the bathroom and changed back to normal. Stepping out of the suit, he picked up his train of thought where he had left off.

_Sam's gone, and there's no way to track her down, unless Tucker can come up with something that can find out where Aradia went, or where Sam is. There must be some ghost around here who knows where this Aradia lives! If only the Box Ghost hadn't snuck off after the fight, I could convince him to lead us there. Or at least tell us what direction she's in. _Sighing, Danny changed back into his ghost form and floated out to where everyone was digging through the cabinets, looking for something to eat. _At least my family and Tucker are safe. _

He watched as Jack and Tucker fought over a package of snicker doodles, Maddie and Jazz trying to get them to share, Valerie and Lancer chuckling at their antics. They all seemed so…different. He could see the strain and stress that over a week in captivity had placed on them. Maddie and Jazz looked the worst—they had probably given up some of their food to Tucker and Sam to help them out. Even Jack was different. His features were sharper, harder, even if he was only fighting over cookies. Tucker was thinner than usual, and his face showed signs of strain and worry.

_And it's all because of me. If only I hadn't…what, saved them in the first place? I don't know, what else could I have done anyway? _He sighed and realized there was something he could have done. He could have saved them. It would have been better for his secret to be revealed than for Sam to be missing and his family almost starved to death.

"Danny, are you ok? You look horrible." Valerie put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him back towards his bunk area.

"Go lay down for a bit, you need to rest after a beating like that."

"But Sam—"

Valerie cut him off with a shake of her head. "No, Sam will have to wait. Right now you need to sleep, regain your strength. We can find Sam in the morning."

Danny looked at her covered face incredulously. "But who knows what Aradia's doing to her! We need to save her before it's too late!"

"You've done enough, I think. We can rescue Sam on our own. We are very grateful for your help, but we can handle the situation from here. And you seem to be forgetting that our son and his other friend are still missing."

Danny turned to his mother, who was giving him a mixed look of thankfulness and distrust. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure they're there too. But she seems to be focusing more on Sam. She did say 'girlfriend', even if she's not my girlfriend."

"But how do you know she's not talking about Valerie? She's missing too." Maddie argued.

"But Valerie's—" Tucker said.

"Valerie's, um, in love with, uh, Tucker! So it had to be Sam." Danny shot Tucker a warning look, hoping he would watch his tongue. Maddie still didn't look convinced.

"Be that as it may, I still don't understand this, and I would feel better if you left now." Danny started protesting again, but Maddie cut him off. "Now that's enough! We are very grateful for your help, but I just don't feel comfortable with you around. How do we know you're not planning something, or that you're not a part of all this?"

"I swear I'm just trying to help you!" Danny said. He'd never thought beyond saving everyone. He'd just assumed they'd accept him and his help without question, not thinking that they might think he was involved. He was saved from trying to argue with his mother when Jazz interjected.

"Mom, dad, I think we should let him help us. I mean he DID get us out of there in the first place. He can't be all bad, especially since he's given you many chances to either escape or hurt him. And he hasn't even tried to hurt us once. Without them, we'd still be locked in that cage. I have a feeling we'll need both of their help before we get back home. Plus, who would object to extra fire-power?"

Maddie stared at her daughter, considering what she had just said.

_Please let it work! Come on, mom! If you don't agree I'll go on my own."_

As if hearing his thoughts, Maddie consented. "Alright. But I'm keeping my eye on you. Any wrong move and you'll wish you'd never been born! Or died…"

"Don't worry, it'll be like I'm not even here." He sighed with relief and floated towards his bunk.

"I'm just going to go to my—I mean outside and rest for a bit." He floated out the ceiling and went invisible, going back inside and next to Tucker.

"Tucker!" he whispered.

"Woah! Whose there?" Tucker yelled. Danny cringed at his friend's outburst, hoping no one expected anything.

"Tucker! Be quiet already!"

"Danny?"

"Shh! Just go to my bunk when you get the chance. And bring Valerie with you. We need to try to track Sam down. Nod if you understand."

Tucker poked his head into a cabinet and nodded. "We'll be there."

"Good. I'm headed up there to sleep, so don't let my parents or Jazz or Lancer up there, or they'll find out that I'm—well, you know. Just keep the away."

Satisfied that Tucker would do as he asked, he floated up to his bunk and changed back out of his ghost mode. His head hit the pillow, and his last conscious thought was of Sam, lying dead in some unknown part of the Ghost Zone.

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Hah! I finally finished! Go me, go me! YES! Sorry it took so long, but the plot ghost stole my ideas and I had to chase her across half the Ghost Zone just to get them back. Chapter 10 HOPEFULLY won't be as long, but I'm making no promises. And chapter 2 of Sam's Perfect Christmas should be up soon too. But not tomorrow. It's Christmas tomorrow. Well, sorta. We've got family coming over, and I just made peanut butter cookies. Yum! See ya soon! OH! WAIT! I do have some bad news. This is the last story for the sleep warrior. If you want to know why, just ask in a review or PM me. I just don't want to put it here. See ya next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Yes, this is mostly the same, but there were a few mistakes I took out. So if you already read it, you don't need to read it again. Nothing big changed.

Hey all! I'm back with chapter 10! I think there's gonna be two or three more chapters, but not many more. It's almost done. And I hope this one goes better than the last one. It took FOREVER to track down the plot ghost. She stole all my ideas for this and I had to go beat—I mean get them from her. Yes. So I hope you like this one!

**kristle:** Why thank you again! And nooo! That makes things a whole lot more difficult. Grr…Actually, I think you should read this one fic, called "Too Good To Be True." It's in the Danny Phantom section, but I don't remember who it's by. I was reading it the other day when I was talking with my sister, and she and my mom started singing it. But PLEASE read it! There's not too many reviews, and I just know you're going to like the author's style. She writes a lot like me, actually. Hope you like this one!

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_He was running down the same hall again, but this time the doors were shut. He knew what he was running from this time—Aradia. He could feel her presence closing in on him, and no matter how fast he tried to go she seemed to gain on him. Suddenly, she was gone. He pulled up short and looked around him, wondering where she went, but all he saw was a green glow in the distance. Laughter filled the air, and Danny spun around to face her. This time her hood was down, and her cat was sitting next to her, its glowing red eyes fixed on Danny's form. _

"_Where's Sam! I know you have her. Where is she!" he yelled. Aradia just laughed at him and snapped her fingers. Once again a figure appeared next to her, and Danny tried to rush to her side. _

"_SAM! What have you done to her!" _

_The bruises were still there, and the scorch mark looked worse. Danny tried to get to her, but he found himself rooted to his spot. "Please, let her go!" he cried. Struggling against the invisible bonds that held him, he broke free and rushed to her side. Aradia seemed surprised, and immediately snapped Sam from his sight._

"_NO! SAM! Bring her back!" Aradia laughed at his efforts and started to disappear into the mists. He frantically grabbed at her robes and latched on, hoping to follow her to Sam. Surprisingly it worked. He saw them fly past the speeder, realizing he now knew how to find Aradia and Sam. He suddenly found himself in front of a large, dark castle. The draw-bridge was raised, and the windows were all barred. He slowly floated through the drawbridge and past the shadowy figures that guarded it. Fortunately, they did not appear to see him. He drifted through the castle looking for Sam, but too afraid to call her name. Ever going down he searched for her. Finally, he stopped in front of a thick wooden door. There seemed to be a ghost shield around it, but he managed to float through. Inside was a long hallway with cells on either side. He floated down the aisle, looking in each one, hoping to see a familiar face peering out. Looking in the last one, he saw Sam lying in a damp pile of straw. He tried to call out to her, but his voice wouldn't work. Darting to her side, he pulled her onto her back. The now familiar scorch mark was on her side, and when Danny tried to wake her she wouldn't respond. He frantically checked for vital signs, but there weren't any. She was dead. Gone. And it was all his fault. _

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Tucker sat in the front seat of the speeder, leaning against the window and watching the others. They were all sitting against the cabinets, eating whatever food they had managed to find. He thought he would be ravished after over a week with almost no food, but he found himself only nibbling on the bag of chips in his lap, more worried about Sam than his stomach. _I hope she's alright. Why did they want to take her and not any of the rest of us? What did they see that made her more important? Or more of a threat?_ Tucker bolted upright in his chair as his thought sank in, heedless of the chips that spilled onto the floor. _That's it! They must have seen the connection Danny and Sam have. They're using her as the big bait! I have to go tell Danny!_ He jumped from his seat and rushed back towards Danny's bunk. Noticing the strange looks he was getting, he grinned sheepishly.

"Umm, I call Danny's bunk!" he yelled. He scrambled up the ladder and past the curtain, pulling it closed and shutting out the blank stares he was getting. He turned around and saw Danny sleeping restlessly in the far corner. His face was screwed up, and he looked about ready to scream, muttering to himself and thrashing around. Tucker hurried over to his side and shook him lightly, hoping he would wake up without a sound.

"Danny, Danny! Wake up!" he hissed. Danny's eyes flew open, and Tucker was surprised to see them glowing a bright green. Danny looked around him, searching for some unknown object, but relaxed when he saw Tucker.

"Oh, Tucker. You came. I thought you—I saw her—oh, never mind. Where's Valerie?"

"Um, I didn't have the chance to talk to her alone, so we'll have to find some other way to talk to her. And it would have been a bit suspicious if we'd gone into the same bunk together."

Danny blushed at Tucker's comment, apparently realizing the truth in his friend's statement. "Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that. But I need her in here, there's something I need to tell you guys." Tucker leaned back against the wall, returning Danny's stare.

"Don't look at me, I don't know how you're going to do this. It's really not big enough in here for three anyway."

Danny's face lit up and he grabbed Tucker's wrist. "That's it!"

Tucker frowned in confusion. "What's—" He was cut off as Danny phased them onto the roof of the speeder.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." He phased back into the speeder, leaving a very confused Tucker behind.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this." he mumbled. He pulled out his PDA and started checking out some of the ghost websites to see if anyone knew anything about Aradia or where she 'lived'. He'd been sitting for a few minutes when Danny and Valerie showed up. He barely glanced at them as they started arguing.

"What in the world are you thinking! This is no way to gain their trust!" Valerie hissed. Danny scowled at her and turned away.

"Well, how was I supposed to know mom would think we were going to turn on them! I only wanted to tell you guys about my dream. I think it's important."

"Dream? You risked our safety and Sam's for a DREAM? Are you insane?"

Danny's shoulders straightened, but he didn't answer, instead staring off towards the front of the speeder.

Valerie just shook her head at her partner and sighed, sitting down next to Tucker. "Have you found anything?" she asked. Tucker shook his head and turned his PDA off, sticking it back into his pocket.

"No, no one seems to have even heard of her. I've been to every ghost website, and there's no mention of her. Which makes sense if she's telling the truth about her being from the future. And Danny's girlfriend." He shuddered at the thought. "What did Danny do this time?" Danny's back stiffened, but Valerie ignored him.

"Oh, nothing much. Unless you count turning his entire family against us. He phased into the speeder and scared everyone, then started ranting about how he needed to talk to me so we could 'plan'. So of course his mom got suspicious and started asking questions, and we barely got out of there alive! He just had to keep digging a bigger hole."

Danny spun around. "Hey, how was I supposed to know she'd flip out like that! I only wanted to talk to you guys alone. I couldn't have very well waltzed in there and said 'Hey, guess what! I was just asleep while I was supposed to be looking out for ghosts and had a dream that showed us which way we needed to go!' Yeah, they'd have taken that really well."

Valerie and Tucker hadn't even heard his last statement, still hanging on the part where he'd said he knew which way to go.

"Why didn't you tell me! I wouldn't have just wasted valuable battery power on a pointless search!" Tucker yelled. Valerie was still in shock, absorbing what he'd just told them.

"You know where to go?" she quietly asked. Tucker turned back to Danny, who nodded his head.

"It was the same dream I've been having for the past few weeks. I was running from her—this time I knew it was her. I was running down that hallway, but all of the doors were closed. I felt her disappear, and then she appeared behind me. She wouldn't answer any of my questions, only snapped her fingers. Sam appeared next to her again, but she was hurt, badly. Even worse than last time. I—I tried to get to her, but I couldn't move. Tonight I fought even harder, and I got free. But she was gone when I got close to her. Aradia just started laughing again, and disappearing. This time I grabbed for her robes, and I saw her float past the speeder. She was headed off in that direction," he said, pointing towards the front of the speeder. "We got there, and I started looking for Sam. I-I found her." By now his voice had dropped to a barely audible whisper, and he drifted off, staring off into the direction he had pointed to. Seeing that he wasn't about to continue any time soon, Tucker encouraged him to continue.

"Where was she? Was she alright?"

Danny turned back to his friends, tears streaming down his face. "She was dead."

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Maddie chewed thoughtfully on her sandwich, not even noticing that the bread was slightly stale. The ghost boy had just rushed in there, saying something about planning, but Maddie was sure he and the ghost hunter were going to betray them somehow. _I just know that he slipped up somehow. He said something about making plans. Plans for what? It could be completely innocent, but the way the ghost hunter tried to cover something up when I confronted them pushes that possibility aside. What in the world are they planning out there that couldn't be said in front of us? _She looked around the confined area. Jack and Lancer were quietly talking in the corner, and Jazz was sitting in the seat that Tucker had so recently vacated. _And that's another thing. Why was Tucker acting so strangely earlier? He had barely eaten anything when he suddenly rushed off into Danny's bunk. Does he have anything to do with this? _She contemplated going to check up on him, but discarded the idea, knowing he wouldn't be too happy if he was woken up for her suspicions.

Sighing, she finished her sandwich, wiping her hands off on her dirty suit. _But first I'd better go get one of the spare suits to change into._ She rose up and headed towards the back of the speeder to find a new suit. Pausing in the doorway, she turned back to face her daughter.

"Jazz, honey, would you keep a look out for anything suspicious? I don't trust that Phantom to do it for us." Jazz opened her mouth as if she wanted to protest, but thought better of it and just nodded her head. "Good, I'll be in the back changing if you need me. Call me at the slightest hint of anything out of the ordinary!" she called as she closed the door to the back room. Crossing over to the built-in cabinets, she selected a clean suit and started to change, her mind turning back to her previous thoughts. _Jazz has been acting a bit suspicious lately too. She defended both of those intruders, and she seems to know them fairly well. But neither of them seem to really notice it. Maybe they are all in league together. _Maddie shook her head at the thought, knowing how absurd it was. _If they were in it together, Jazz and Tucker wouldn't have been in the cage with us for all of those days. And we wouldn't have either. Jazz would have never allowed it. So why has she been so adamant in protecting them?_

Shrugging into the clean suit, she sighed with relief and tossed the old one into an empty drawer, making a mental note to clean it when they got home. _If we ever get home. Who knows what those two are really planning? Phantom seemed so eager to chase right after those ghosts to find the other three, and he kept forgetting about Danny and Valerie. He knows they're missing too, but that fact keeps slipping his mind! What if he's done something to them! I swear if he does anything to my little boy I'll make him wish he'd never been created! _She sighed, knowing she would find no answers that night. Grabbing a blanket from yet another drawer, she crossed over to the small window. To her surprise, she saw a very sad ghost boy floating just outside her window. She could just make out the tears streaming down his despair-filled face, falling unchecked onto his suit. He was staring off towards the front of the speeder, but she couldn't see anything worth looking out. She glanced back at his sorrowful face, shocked at the feeling she felt. _I-I feel like I should just go out there and hold him, tell him everything will be alright. He looks so much like Danny, and they're probably about the same age too. He just looks so sad, but he's my enemy! Right? _Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she turned from the window, confused and scared. She pushed a small button on the wall, and a bed folded out from the wall. Crawling under the covers, she fell asleep with thoughts of the ghost boy running through her head.

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Well, I got Chapter 10 done! I hope you liked it, I know it was short, but I couldn't go any further, and I wanted to end it there. It took forever to write up, and not much happened, but it was important none the less. They now know which way to go, and Maddie's contemplating more. Oh, yeah, once more, this is the last story from the sleep warrior. But PLEASE R&R! Thanks again, and Chapter 11, I think next weekend, but no promises. And I now you all hate me now for all the questions you are doubtless asking, but no answers until they get out there! Bwahahahahaha! (ahem) Sorry.


	11. Chapter 11

Alrighty! Chapter 11...yes. It took me a bit, but not too bad. Right? RIGHT! I am sorry, though. Our internet freaked out and died on Wednesday, so I didn't get it back until Saturday. At least it wasn't Monday, like they'd first threatened. But I must apologize to everyone! I feel so horrid, even if there is nothing I could do about it! ACK! INTERNET, WHY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME! 

This is the chapter with some of the fighting, so I hope you guys like it. I'm still a bit shaky on its quality, but I'll live with it. Oh, and I have something to ask you guys: WILL YOU BE MY BETA? Hah, gotta love Klemper. But seriously, I need a lot of feedback on my story, and so therefore I need your help. Don't ask, just apply. If you do, you might get more stories from me! Which I'm sure you guys all want. Actually, I know you all want it. So info's below, cuz I don't want to keep you guys waiting. Yes.

**kristle:** Thanks for the reviews! And Sam's Perfect Christmas is done, but I'm glad you liked it! And to answer your question: I can't do it here. I've asked a friend, darkflame1516, to answer it for you. It would take up WAY too much room. If you ask her, I'm sure she'll tell you. Sorry for not being able to answer it here. And sorry for the wait between chapters for this: It takes me a bit to get them out of my head and onto the computer, and these last few chapters have been really critical, so I wanted them to be perfect. But I'm trying :D :P

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Danny Phantom, no matter how much I may want to…

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'Morning' arrived for the occupants of the speeder, all of them anxious and apprehensive about the upcoming events. Maddie leaned against the wall, tired from a night of restless sleep and watched the ghost boy try to prepare everyone for what was to come.

"All right, everyone. Today is not going to be easy. We're most likely going to have to fight our way into Aradia's castle."

"How do you know she's in a castle? There aren't any castles in the Ghost Zone," Maddie replied, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. _And how do we know this isn't a trap of some sort?_

"Actually, there are. The Fright Knight and Pariah Dark both live in castles," he stated with authority. "And Vlad," he added softly. She raised her brow skeptically at his words, suspicious about how he had gained this information, but decided to ignore it. For the moment.

"But how do you know this 'Aradia' is in a castle? And who's the Fright Knight and Pariah Dark?"

"They're a couple of ghosts I fought once. The Fright Knight tried to take over the world on Halloween a couple years ago, and Pariah Dark tried to do the same thing about a year ago. He's the one that pulled the entire town into the Ghost Zone."

"All right, but you still haven't answered my other question. How do you know she's in a castle?"

"I—I saw it," he softly whispered. "In a dream."

"In a dream!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "You expect us to go trouncing off into unknown parts of the Ghost Zone because of a DREAM? Ghost's don't dream, much less sleep!"

He turned to her with a look that bordered on impatience. "Look, mo—Maddie. I'm not like other ghosts. I can and do have dreams, and if I don't sleep, I have no energy."

Normally that comment would have invoked a heated response from Maddie on the habits and capabilities of ghosts, but his first statement—or almost statement—threw her into shock._ Did...did he almost call me...mom? No, I must be imagining things. I'm just tired—that's it. I just need more rest. It didn't help that when I did finally get to sleep I dreamed that Phantom took Danny's place in our house and no one noticed but me. My head will be clearer when I get some more rest._

She turned her attention back to the conversation, which had escalated into a huge debate about Phantom's intentions. Jack and Lancer were vehemently against relying on a ghost's dreams, but surprisingly Jazz and Tucker were siding with the Phantom.

"Don't trust a ghost, I always say. How do we know we can trust you, ghost kid? You never helped us in the past, so why now?" Jack bellowed. Phantom sighed, frustration and impatience plain on his pasty face. He was about to defend himself when, to Maddie's surprise, Jazz cut in.

"He's always helped you! You've all just been too dense to see it! You're all so wrapped up in your hatred of him that you can't see all the times he's saved you! When that ghost Pariah pulled the whole town into the Ghost Zone, he's the one that saved us! And when that ghost took over our house and the RV, he saved us again!" This comment earned Jazz some very confused looks from Phantom, Tucker, and Valerie, but she didn't seem to notice any of them.

"But what about the mayor incident?" Lancer asked.

"I already told you!" The frustrated ghost replied. "The mayor was overshadowed by Walker; he's the equivalent of the ghosts' police, but his rules aren't fair. He wanted revenge on me so that I would be hated in both worlds." Her interest aroused, Maddie cut in.

"What did you do to make him so mad?"

Surprised at her interjection, Phantom turned towards her uncertainly. "Umm...well I...kinda escaped from his prison. And released all of the other prisoners too."

"WHAT?" Maddie, Jack, and Lancer exclaimed at once. They stared at him in shock. Maddie pushed off from the wall and walked closer to the Phantom, anger flaring in her eyes. "You escaped from prison? How did you get in there in the first place?"

He sighed impatiently. "I was trying to retrieve something important from the Ghost Zone, but Walker confiscated it and sent me to prison unfairly. I hadn't done anything except let that box in. I managed to escape with the help of the other prisoners, but they ended up escaping too and Walker never forgave me for that, so he tried to turn the whole town against me. And he obviously did a pretty good job. Look, if you're all done interrogating me, we need to get going. The more time we waste here, the less chance we have of saving Sam. And Danny and Valerie too," he quickly added.

She looked over at her husband and her son's teacher and as much as they hated it, they all realized the ghost was right. They exchanged a relenting look, reaching a silent agreement.

"All right, Phantom. You can lead us to her. But I swear, if this is some kind of trick, I will hunt you down and obliterate you!" Her threat evoked the response she was looking for and he gulped nervously, but nodded his head.

"I swear on everything that I hold dear that I won't betray you," he solemnly intoned. _It will have to do._ She thought as she nodded her consent.

"Ok, everyone get comfortable, I have a feeling this isn't going to be a short ride." Phantom sat down in the driver's seat and took the controls, handling them so familiarly that she wondered how much he knew about their equipment that he wasn't telling them. _I'll get answers from him later; right now I need to clear my head of these ridiculous thoughts. He's evil...I can't let myself forget that, and no matter what I may feel on the inside, he's not my son. He just...sort of looks like Danny. And they act a bit alike too. But he's more confident than my Danny. He...no! I need to stop thinking about him!_ She slowly walked towards the back of the speeder to lie down until her head stopped spinning with doubts and worries. Softly closing the door behind her, she didn't even notice the worried glances the others sent at her retreating form.

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Danny started up the speeder and headed off in the direction Aradia had taken him the night before, the small cage fading into the distance. He disregarded the untrusting looks his father and teacher threw at him and concentrated on the controls instead. Jazz was standing somewhere behind him, and Valerie and Tucker were sitting beside him. Tucker was once again searching his PDA for any information that could be useful to them and Valerie checking and cleaning all of her weapons. He locked the speeder onto its course and leaned back against the window, loosing himself in his thoughts. _Mom looked awful when she went into the back earlier; I hope nothing too horrible has happened to her. But she hasn't been acting like herself lately. I'm sure she caught my slip earlier; she would have started arguing with me about the habits of ghosts if she hadn't caught it. And she looks so confused, and lost. Like she's dealing with some awful inner-conflict._ He shook his head. _I need to stop listening to Jazz; I'm starting to think like her. I'm sure Mom's just tired. _He smiled, wondering how badly Jazz's ideas had "poisoned" his mind, but a nagging little voice tugged it back into a frown. _But what if mom really is about to find out? I've left more than enough clues, even if I didn't mean to. She's smart—what if she's starting to see the connection_

More determined than ever to stop thinking about his untrusting and suspicious companions, he focused on the more immediate problem. He still had no idea how he was going to save Sam or if she was still alive. And he didn't know if they were even headed in the right direction. The entire dream could have been meant to throw him off Aradia's trail and they could be headed in the opposite direction of where they needed to go. Or it could be so far away that they'd all run out of food and die before they got there. He was sure it would be too late for Sam if it took even half of that amount of time to get there._ I swear if Aradia showed me the wrong way I'll hunt her down! She'll regret the day she decided to hurt my friends and family, especially Sam._

He didn't even notice the ectoplasmic glow that charged up in his hands, or the ferocity with which his eyes glowed until a hand gently touched his shoulder.

"Danny, calm down!" Tucker whispered. "Save your shots for when they're really needed." Startled, Danny spun around and saw his friend's concerned face.

"Wha--?" He started to ask and Tucker motioned at his glowing hands. Danny smiled sheepishly before deactivating them.

"Sorry about that. I was just...thinking."

Tucker frowned at him, his head slightly tilted. "Danny, there's nothing else you could have done. You did the best you could. We'll find her, I promise."

"How did you know what I was—"

Tucker smiled and shook his head. "Dude, it was more than a little obvious. What else would you be thinking about that would make you shake in anger and look like you're ready to spring into action? We'll do our best to save her...that's all we can do."

"Why were you glowing?" came a concerned and slightly scared voice from behind them. They both turned around and saw Lancer and Jack staring at them curiously. _Oh, shoot! I forgot they were even there! I'm not getting better at keeping my secret—I'm getting worse. Wait—did they say glowing?_

"Glowing? What do you mean?" he asked. He glanced at Tucker, who looked just as confused as he felt.

"You had a bright white glow around your entire body. What was it? I noticed that I felt a bit weak once it showed up." Lancer stated. Danny was even more shocked when Tucker's face lit up.

"You know, I think I saw it too. I thought it was just the lights playing tricks on me, or being worn out from lack of food. What was that? Some new power you haven't told us about yet?"

Lancer frowned. "Why would he tell you if he got a new power?"

Danny's hand met his forehead in frustration. _TUCKER! Apparently he's not any better at keeping my secret than I am._

_  
_"I think he meant to ask if it's a new power I haven't told the town about yet. But I've never seen that before. I—I didn't feel anything different. You all felt weak?" He looked around the room and they all nodded, even Valerie.

He sat back down on his seat and tried to picture a glow around him, but nothing happened. "I can't get it to work. Whatever it was, I don't think I can control it." Looking up at the startled faces around him, he realized that he probably shouldn't have told them that. If he could drain their strength without even knowing it, they would be afraid to even be near them in their state. They were too weak as it was—they needed a couple weeks of rest before they would be fit enough to fight. But there wasn't enough time. There never was.

"I-I'd better go lie down for a bit." Not waiting for a reaction, he floated into his bunk and plopped down onto his pillow, horrible thoughts running wildly around his spinning head.

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_The ghost boy walked down her stairs and into the kitchen. "Morning, Mom, morning Dad." he said as he pulled a bowl and some Ghostie-oh's from the cabinets. Maddie spun around, her mouth hanging open._

_"You! What are you doing in my kitchen! And what have you done with my son?" he turned his hurt bright blue eyes on her and—'wait, blue? Phantom doesn't have blue eyes.' she thought._

_"Mom, what are you talking about? It's me, Danny. Your son." She looked towards her husband and daughter for support, but they looked as confused as the ghost._

_"Jack, can't you see it? It's that ghost kid—Phantom! You can't honestly believe that's our Danny"_

_  
He walked over to her and placed his hand on her forehead, frowning. "Are you all right, honey? Of course that's our son—any person with an ounce of insight could see that."_

_"But—" her mouth was covered by a large hand._

_"Maddie, I think you need to go upstairs and get some rest. You're seeing things."_

_She backed up from them, shaking her head in disbelief. "No, no! You have to see it! He's not my son!"_

_Suddenly, Phantom was floating in front of her. "Yes, I am. I am your son. I am Danny."_

_She ran out of the kitchen, screaming in horror._

_"No! No! NOO!"_

Maddie bolted upright in the bed. Sweat soaked her hair, running down her face and into her eyes. Wiping the sheets across her face, she took in her surroundings, relief flooding her face as she realized where she was.

"Oh, thank goodness, it was just a dream. Just a dream." she muttered. The door burst open to reveal a very concerned Jack. He rushed to her side, weapons in both hands.

"Maddie, what's wrong? Is it a ghost?"

She shook her head and placed a hand on her husband's arm.

"Jack, dear, put the weapons away. It was just a bad dream."

Pouting, he put his weapons away and sat down next to her. "What happened? Your dreams have been getting worse lately. Even I've noticed it."

She glanced up at the doorway, where concerned faces peered in at her. Surprisingly, the Phantom's was one of them. "Umm, I'd rather not say." she said, looking pointedly at the ghost. He blushed and flew away, his face strangely apologetic. _He does look like my Danny…no! I can't let myself feel affection for him! He's my enemy—he's everyone's enemy. We can't trust him!_

"Maddie?" she looked back at her husband and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Jack. It was only a dream. Go back outside to keep an eye out for anything suspicious." He looked unconvinced, but let the issue drop, herding everyone out of the doorway. Before he shut the door, he turned around.

"By the way, we're almost there, Maddie. Phantom says the radar's picked up a large building in the distance, and he's almost positive it's our destination." She nodded, and he softly closed the door behind him.

She got up and folded the sheets back onto the bed, pressing a button on the wall that retracted the modified Murphy bed back into place. Looking in the small mirror hanging on the back of the door, she realized just how horrible she really looked. Her hair was flying everywhere, and her eyes were red and puffy. She had a haunted look to her, magnified by the gauntness of her features. She was pale—almost as pale as Phantom.

Crossing the room she pulled a brush and cloth out of a drawer and started composing herself. After a few minutes she inspected her reflection again. Not perfect, but she wouldn't need to be to save her son. She checked all of her weapons and grabbed a few extras before she headed out the door. All of the others were there, gathered around the radar, and Phantom had found time to put the ecto-suit back on. She slipped into the back of the group and peered over her daughter's shoulder, seeing that they were indeed close to some large building.

"Hey, Mom, are you all right?" Maddie turned to her daughter, seeing her concerned face peering up at her. "You've been really upset lately."

"I'm fine, dear. I'm just worried for your brother and his friends." Jazz looked skeptical and seemed about to object, but Phantom's whisper cut them off.

"We're here"

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A huge, dark castle loomed up before them, the windows barred and lightless. The speeder landed on the small strip of land just outside the raised drawbridge, but nothing moved to approach them.

"Whoa, is this the right place?" Tucker asked with awe.

"Well, it definitely looks like the place I saw. The only thing that's missing is the shadowy things that were guarding the bridge."

"How are we going to get in?"

He turned around to face his sister.

"We'll probably have to fight our way in, but someone will have to stay with the speeder. Mr. Lancer, I think that should be you. You did say you knew how to work the weapons here?" He didn't wait for the nod from his teacher before continuing.

"You can cover everyone else as we try to get in. There may not be anyone around right now, but they'll show up." He pushed the helmet on the suit back so he could see around him better.

"Maddie, Jack, and Val will be in the front. Tucker, I want you to stay here with Lancer so I can communicate with all groups. Valerie, you stay with the Fentons no matter what happens so I can stay in touch with you." She nodded and turned towards the castle.

"What do I need to do?" Jazz asked. Smiling grimly, he handed her a few weapons.

"You'll be with ou—your parents. And Val. Stick with them the best you can." She nodded silently and accepted the weapons, digging out a few more from a nearby drawer.

"All right, everyone clear on what they need to do?" He asked. Surprisingly, they all nodded their heads. None of them even questioned his plans, not even his mom. She was staring of towards the castle with a look of intense hatred and anger.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Ok, let's go then." The five fighters clambered out of the speeder and onto the strangely dark purple ground. Jack bent down to examine it, but quickly lost interest as silence closed in around them. Taking one last look at the speeder where his friend and teacher were peering out the window, Danny turned towards the castle.

"Let's go." The words had hardly left his mouth when a streak shot up and scratched the side of his head, causing him to cry out in pain. Ignoring the large gash near his temple, he slammed the helmet back down on the suit and joined the others in battle. Shadowy figures had appeared all around them, attacking from every side.

He tried to blast as many as he could, but nothing seemed to affect them. When he shot one, it's dissipated parts converged back together and kept advancing toward them. He looked frantically around, but no one else seemed to be having any better luck than he was.

"Valerie!" he yelled through the mike. "Nothing's working!"

"Just keep blasting them! They can't last forever!" came the stressed reply. He looked around and saw the drawbridge a few paces off.

"Valerie! I'm going to go inside and find Sam! Keep these goons busy out here, and don't let anyone follow me! I need to do this on my own."

"We'll do our best, Danny. I'll pass the message on. And good luck."

"Thanks." he murmured. Turning invisible, he flew above the shadows and through the gate, leaning against the thick boards once he was inside. He was faced with an empty courtyard, the stone walkways and statues overgrown with dead and dying plants. Slowly he floated forwards, hoping that everything that could hurt him was outside. _Well, except Aradia. I swear when I get my hands on her she will wish she'd never messed with me!_

He floated into the deserted castle and began to search for Sam.

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First off, a HUGE thank you to darkflame1516 for being my beta! Awesome job! Second, I profusely apologize for any formatting issues. Fanfiction is having issues loading off of Microsoft Word, and so I had to put it into notepad to get it to load. Any questions AT ALL, please ask. I'd be more than happy to answer.

Woah, that was a lot longer than I'd expected. Which means you all ultimately get more chapters from me! But I also didn't get much fighting in, and that also means you get more cliffies, and that I stopped earlier than I'd planed. Oh, and don't rat on me for making a small hallway to the back of the speeder. I know it's not in the show, but modifications were made so the hallway could be there. And the bunks, like the ones in the RV. I thought it was pointless that they only had a small seat for three, so I fixed it to my purposes.

Ok all, I REALLY need a beta, someone who's not afraid to totally tear me apart with criticism on my writing and who's really good. I know you're out there, and I need your help. I know, you're probably all thinking 'you already have a beta!' But the more input I can get, the better the chapters are! The only problem is, I've got some strict guidelines, which I'm afraid might scare some great betas away. But if you're really interested and can't meet some of the guidelines, tell me and I'll still consider you.

1) It would be VERY helpful if you could get the chapter back to me within a day or two, as it takes me so long to write them in the first place.

2) Must be willing to tear my work apart, edit whatever needs it, ask any questions you might have, and tell me what's BS and what rocks for my story. Be brutal, be honest.

3) Have to love Danny Phantom and be very familiar with the show. If you're not, how will you understand what's going on?

4) Lastly, you gotta want the job and like it. No spamming me with one liners, like "I'll do it." Or whatever. Tell me why I should pick you.

This is REALLY important to me, even more important than the AP tests at the end of the year. And if you don't know what those are, you can get college credit in high school if you do well on them, and they're super expensive and super important. But a beta is more important to me, which is saying a lot. So PLEASE! I really need your help on this.

TSW


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12! Woot! I made it to 12 chapters. I was originally only planning on having 10 for this story, but I think after this chapter there's going to be, oh, about 2 more chapters. That sounds about right. That way I don't have to stop at 13, cuz that's unlucky! (snort) Yes. Enough of my ramblings, I hope you like it! Lots of fighting in this one, but I must warn you—you're going to hate me:D And MUCH SORRYNESS for the wait. The plot ghost decided to come back from her vacation to Tahiti and bug me some more. Curses.

**Independent.C.:** CURSES! It worked. I swear! You sent your review and my cat's been attacking me ever since! I've tried everything: giving her treats, petting her, bending to her every whim—nothing's working! I just hope this gets her to stop…here's the update:D :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, and unfortunately, probably never will. (sigh)

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Maddie fired in every direction, weapons blazing as the creatures advanced. She and Jack were back to back, spinning and jumping, blasting the creatures to ribbons, only to have them reform seconds later.

"Maddie, nothing's working! What do we do?"

Her husband looked up at her through the ghosts and grunted angrily.

"If that Phantom were still here he might be able to help us. Where'd he go?"

Shocked, Maddie peered through the ghosts as she blasted another, barely avoiding the thing's claws as they flew towards her unprotected head. She didn't see Phantom anywhere—he'd disappeared. _I knew he would betray us! He's going to get his friends and destroy us!_ She scowled deeply, pulling out a fully charged gun to replace the one that had just died in her hands.

Suddenly, she felt something tear through her back, pain shooting through her body and clouding her mind as she collapsed to the ground. She was dimly aware of Jack bellowing in anger and blasting the creature before her world turned black and she knew no more.

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Sitting in the driver's seat of the Specter Speeder, Lancer frantically worked the guns and weapons, blasting as many of the shadow creatures as he could. Tucker sat next to him with his PDA, doing all he could to help his teacher out. _I never knew a PDA could be so useful. Maybe that's why he gets such good grades in my class, even though he never pays attention. I'll have to ask him about it when—if we ever get out of here._ He turned his attention back to the shadows that were hanging all over the speeder, trying to get past the shield. The few guns that stuck out past the shield were long gone, their smoking, sparking stumps the only part remaining.

"Foley! See what you can do about those things sticking to our roof!" His young student nodded and started tapping away at his screen, calmly taking it all in stride. _He doesn't seem to be scared—its as if he's done it all before. He doesn't even seem to be nervous for his friend's safety. He knows the weapons on this speeder better than I do, and I had days to look it over. What do these kids have to face to make them so calm in a situation like this? I guess being best friend to the kid of ghost hunters brings unexpected surprises you have to be ready for._

Lancer was pulled from his musings as he heard a loud roar. Both he and Tucker looked over through the shadows to see Maddie collapsed on the ground, five nasty slashes running across her back and Jack angrily beating the shadows back.

The speeder lurched towards them, knocking the unsuspecting shadows out of the way. Tucker stopped the speeder expertly, jumped out to help Jack get Maddie inside the speeder. Lancer made sure the shadows kept their distance, but he didn't have to worry. They were all converging on the ghost hunter and Jazz, drowning the two in a sea of blackness.

Jack jumped back out of the speeder and continued blasting in every direction, bellowing a warning towards the hunter.

"Watch out!"

Lancer watched in amazement as the overweight man jumped into the fray once more, his angry glare evident through the mask of his suit. Soon the shadows had covered the speeder again, attacking even more viciously than before. Turning his attention back to his job, the overweight teacher grinned wryly. _I never thought I'd actually resort to violence to solve a problem._

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"Watch out!"

Valerie ducked at the warning Danny's dad yelled, barely avoiding the claws of one of the shadow creatures. Cursing silently, she twisted around and blasted the creature, only to have it reform again. They'd been out there for what seemed like hours, fighting hopelessly against the shadow creatures. Every time one was destroyed, its floating pieces just reformed and it kept attacking like nothing had happened. She'd thought that they would tire and totally dissipate after a while, but even her most powerful weapons didn't seem to faze the dark creatures.

"Take that you creep!" She yelled in frustration, slamming her fist into the area where its stomach should have been. Instead of connecting, like she'd half expected, she fell right through the creature and landed hard on her stomach, the air escaping her lungs with a 'whoosh'. She quickly rolled onto her back, wincing as the claws of the creature connected with her shin, shooting pain up her leg. Gritting her teeth, she activated another gun and fired at the thing's 'head'. It exploded in a shower of thin, shimmering black ribbons, only to reform in front of her seconds later. Why is it that these things can hurt me, but I only fall right through them? How is that fair?

Rolling to her knees, she continued blasting in every direction, hoping to dissipate as many as she could. She took a second to glance at the others through the shimmering bodies in front of her, finding them in the same helpless situation. _Danny better hurry up and find Sam—I don't know how much longer we can last against these things._

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Jack surprised himself slightly as he let out a small growl when one of the creatures scratched him. He couldn't feel pain anymore, despite the countless cuts and scrapes all over his body. After Maddie had gone down, he'd lost himself in the fighting. He had no idea how long they'd been out there, only that the shadows kept coming and he kept blasting. His mind was on one track—destroy the ghosts. _I've always hated them, but now it's personal._ He thought as he blasted yet another shadow. _They captured my family, kept us locked in a cage, insulted us, and now they've hurt my wife. They will pay for this. I won't leave here until they're all gone. All of them. _

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In the back of the Specter Speeder, Tucker rummaged through the cabinets, looking for more

bandages. He'd been unable to help Lancer in the front, since he was trying to bandage up Maddie's back, which was proving to be a very difficult task. She was nearly unconscious, and he had to keep prodding her to get her to move enough so he could get the bandages around her.

Finally, he sighed and sat back. It wasn't the best wrap job, since she still had her suit on, but it would have to do. Pulling out his PDA and checking the status of the speeder, he saw that about half of the weapons were useless because they were either cut off or out of energy. Shaking his head, he peered out of the small window and surveyed the area. He could see Valerie and Jazz fighting off in the distance, both surrounded by hundreds of shadows. _I hope Danny gets Sam soon. I don't think we can hold these things off much longer._ He pulled his eyes from the desperate situation outside and took one last look at Danny's mom, making sure she was okay before heading back out to the cockpit to help Lancer.

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Ducking and weaving her way through the mass of ghosts, Jazz slowly made her way to her father's side. She could see that he was greatly injured and needed to take a break.

"Dad! DAD!" He didn't hear her, and as she got closer she could see why. Tears were streaming down his face as he blasted the creatures, incoherent mumblings coming from his mouth. He almost blasted her twice before she made it to his side. Carefully laying an arm on his shoulder, she managed to avoid most of the claws that raked at her.

"Dad, listen to me! You need to take a break." He looked at her through glassy eyes, not comprehending what she was saying. Shaking his head after a few seconds, he continued his rampage, not even flinching if one of the shadows hit him. _He needs to rest! We're all tired—we should be taking this in shifts, not all fighting at once like maniacs. He needs to be with Mom right now! _She shuddered slightly at the memory of seeing her mother being hacked down like an animal, not even crying out in pain.

Another shadow clawed at her shin, almost causing her to fall. _I can't worry about Dad right now. I've got to take care of myself. _She glanced quickly at the castle, hoping to see her brother emerge.

_Please hurry, Danny. We're counting on you to get us out of here safely._

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Danny walked downward through the deadly-silent halls of the castle, the clanking of his boots echoing strangely around him. The sounds of fighting had faded some time ago, leaving the eerie silence of the castle his only companion. The cold walls were sparsely decorated with only a few ragged tapestries hanging from the walls. The scenes they depicted were strange, yet he noticed that all of them contained five ghosts clad in blood-red cloaks, four with red eyes and one with green. The green-eyed ghost always seemed to be the leader in whatever the event was—stirring a concoction in a black cauldron, chasing other ghosts, and in one, sitting on a throne of gold, the other seven grouped around her. Danny couldn't bring himself to look at them for long—most had gruesome depictions of slaughtered humans. But he couldn't help to notice that the green eyed ghost looked eerily like Aradia.

He turned yet another corner and found himself staring at a dead end that looked a lot like the one from his dream. There was a wooden door at the end of the hallway, and a slight green shimmer seemed to surround it. Sprinting to the door, he halted just in front of it. Reaching out a tentative hand, he felt the resistance of the ghost shield. _I just floated through it in my dream. There has to be a way for me to get inside. If only… _He looked at the shield critically, hoping to find a weak spot. There seemed to be about five feet between the edge of the shield and the door, but after a few minutes of silent observation he couldn't find any weakness. _If only I wasn't a ghost!_ Realizing what he'd just thought, he slapped a hand to his forehead and changed back, easily stepping past the shield. _If I wasn't a C average student I would have thought of that five minutes ago._

He quickly changed into his ghost form and phased through the door, triumph lighting his eyes as he recognized the long hallway. Darting to the first cell, he peered in through the eye-slot and was ecstatic to see a familiar form lying on a pile of damp straw. He phased through the cell door and rushed to her side, pulling her onto her back. She was much paler than normal, and the now familiar scorch mark was on her side. Danny shook her gently, hoping to wake her.

"Sam, Sam! It's me, Danny! Wake up!" She didn't respond, and he phased a hand out of the suit and took her wrist to feel for a pulse. Nothing. Panicking, he felt her neck and chest for any signs of life, but he was met by the stillness of death.

"No." he whispered softly, staring down at her still form. "NO!" Tears flowed down his face, obscuring the motionless body of his best friend. "I was too late. I should have—I—" He paused and wiped the tears from his eyes, frowning as he took a closer look at the body in front of him. _I could have sworn she just disappeared._ He reached out a tentative hand, and as soon as he touched her arm she faded and turned into a sack of damp, dirty straw.

"What—" He rushed out of the cell, frantically looking around for any sign of Sam. He darted to the cell across the hall, and saw her in the same position she had been in the last cell. Once again he rushed to her side, but he had barely reached out his hand when she turned into another wet sack of dirty straw. He rushed outside of the cell and looked into a few more, seeing the same figure in each one. _What is going on here? How many cells am I going to have to look in before I find her? _Slamming his fist into the wall in frustration, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. _There's no way I can look in all of these cells. How am I going to know which one is the real Sam? The dream! So far, everything I saw in the dream I've seen here. Well, except for the fake Sams. But if I can just remember which cell she was in…_

He racked his brain, trying to remember which cell he had entered. He knew he'd passed a lot of them before he saw her, but he couldn't remember which cell it was. _I remember floating down the hall, not seeing her. Which cell did I find her in?_ Suddenly, he snapped upright and bolted down the hall to the last cell.

"SAM! SAM!" He pushed through the door and skidded to a halt next to her, hurriedly pulling her onto her back.

"Please be all right, please be all right!" He silently begged as he checked for vital signs. The burn mark on her side looked infected, and it seemed to have spread.

"No, no, please no! Sam, you have to be ok! Wake up! SAM!"

He hit the ground in frustration, pleading with her unresponsive body.

"Sam, wake up! Please, you have to! Don't leave me!"

Maniacal laughter filled the room, and Danny spun around to face the menace, tears streaming down his pale face. His eyes glowed fiercely as he glared at Aradia and her haughty cat.

"What did you do to her! Why did you kill her!"

Aradia smiled knowingly and set her grey cat down.

"Why, my dear boy, I had no reason to kill her. I wouldn't have even touched her if she hadn't said some fairly…insulting things. She's hanging between life and death as we speak. But now that you are here, I have no use for her, do I?" She snapped her fingers and the cat grew in size, its blood-red eyes fixed on Danny.

"And now, my dear kitty, please keep our young halfa restrained as he watches his life fall apart in front of him." The cat leapt over Sam's body and pinned Danny to the wall, snarling viciously as he struggled to get free.

"No, NO! Sam! Please, don't hurt her!" his eyes widened as she floated off of the floor, an eerie green glow surrounding her frame. Aradia turned and smiled at his tear-streaked face.

"Say goodbye to your family, Danny Phantom."

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BWAHAHAHAHAAAA! Don't you just love me? This story is really turning black and bleak. I hope you all liked having everyone's POV; I tried to add a bit of variety. And length. But I thought it would be interesting to get everyone's POV during the battle scene. Sorry for the wait, again, but I promise I'm working on Chapter 13 right now! I'll get it out as soon as I can, too. But no promises as to the date—esp. since tennis just started, so I have almost no free time anymore. BOO! But please review! And thanks for not giving up on me. I'll try to be better about updating.


	13. Chapter 13

If you already read/reviewed Chapter 13, there's nothing new. Well, other than the fact that there are 2 more chapters, not one.I just fixed a small error my beta pointed out to me. So no worries!

Hah, I love you guys. See, I need write cliffies like that more often! I get lovely reviews! Just like with TGTBT…:D You guys won't be TOO mad at me after this one, but I must say I am saddened that I'm loosing readers. Why I don't know, I mean I'm sure they'd want to know what happens next and all. sigh So PLEASE make me feel better and review. I know it takes me forever and a half to update, but when you've got 3 AP classes (Chemistry, Calculus, English) plus honors Anatomy/Physiology…you don't have much free time. Add Tennis to that and WHAM! No free time. But if you do review, you just might convince me to post more stuff on this account, like Flames of Fate…

**Independent.C.:** Well, she's usually loyal, but she was bad after you threatened. But she got better once I updated! (snort) That's too funny. And I just did get a dog on Friday...CURSES! And we have lots of spiders too. Now spiders, on the other hand, I'll have to watch out for…:D Hope you get/got better soon!

**Random Girl**: Hah, I try! But school and tennis do get in the way occasionally. And thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you like this so much! Hehehe, I'll try to lighten it up. Hope this one's better!

**patRiciA: **Your e-mail address that you sent wasn't working, so I hope you get this here! Review Reply for Sam's Perfect Christmas: Yeah, I wrote it, well, in December. A lot of people liked it, but I thought it was just a pretty good filler. And I didn't like the sequel that much either, but everyone else loved it. shrugs Go fig. I personally agree with you--it was missing...something. But it had fluff, so it wasn't too bad. hehe. Thanks for the awesome review! Oh, and in case you were wondering, the sequel is under my other account--Sleep Warrior.

**Disclaimer:** I DON'T OWN DANNY PHANTOM! sniff

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_No, no, she can't die! I have to stop her! _Danny struggled helplessly against the mutated cat that had him pinned against the wall. He watched Sam's floating body slowly start to spin, Aradia's spell weaving around her.

"My spell will soon be complete and your girlfriend will be dead. Then you and the rest of your family will be mine for all eternity and I will finally have my revenge! You were foolish to bring them with you; you should have let them go home. Now they will be stuck here with me until I slowly and painfully take their lives!"

Danny struggled even harder at her words. "NO! I won't let that happen!" He screamed as Aradia cackled at his efforts.

"Fool, you cannot escape now. You have sealed your future. You will never see the real world again—you'll stay locked in this cell for all eternity while you watch your family and friends slowly die in front of your eyes!"

Danny clamped his eyes shut and concentrated all of his energy into forming an ecto-blast, trying to draw energy from every part of his body. He barely noticed the surprised gasp Aradia let out as the cat was hurled from the wall and onto her, breaking the spell and sending Sam crashing to the floor. The cat had shrunk in size again, and for a few seconds Aradia just stared at it in shock.

"What has he done to my cat? What new power is this that he can drain her strength for himself?" She mused. Aradia quickly righted herself and glared at the young halfa, who was standing protectively over his friend's body.

"New power?" He asked, looking critically at the motionless cat beside Aradia. _I drained its power? All I did was think about putting all of my power into the blast. Maybe I can do it again—maybe I can drain Aradia!_

An impish smile grew on his face as he concentrated on draining her power—but it faded as she started laughing.

"Boy, you cannot drain my powers! Just because you defeated my baby doesn't mean you can defeat me so easily. Your new little power means nothing to me." The green glow formed around her hands once more and shot towards Danny, knocking him off from over Sam. He landed hard against the far wall, his vision swarming as he tried to regain his footing. _I don't care what she says—something has to work on her!_

He concentrated again, and felt a small amount of power seeping from her, but the effort took too much of his energy and he collapsed, changing back into his human form. Glancing down at the energy meter, he managed to see that it read five percent. _I—I can't keep this up. She's going to win. _His head sagged in defeat as the meter slowly crept even lower. Aradia started weaving her spell around Sam once more, but a loud explosion cut its threads again.

"What now!" She growled in frustration. Before the ghostly dust had a chance to settle, a large burly shape hurtled through the new hole and bowled into Aradia, sending her into the door.

The new ghost wrestled with Aradia, but Danny couldn't focus in long enough to figure out who it was. All he could make out was a flash ofblue…Who could it be? He clamped his hands to his head, trying to rid himself of the buzzing that was ringing in his ears. He finally got his eyes to focus in on the new ghost, and was shocked to find that it was none other than the Box Ghost. They scuffled around for a bit, Aradia's screams shaking the building, when an eerie, white, blinding glow started to surround them. Just as it encased them, the Box Ghost turned and looked straight into Danny's eyes.

"This isn't over between us, ghost boy." He rumbled. And then they were gone, disappearing in a blinding flash of light.

Danny stared at the spot they'd just occupied in a daze, his jaw hanging open. He couldn't believe that the Box Ghost had saved him. _I'd better stop underestimating him. _He thought tiredly. A loud beep resounded from the suit, signaling that his energy had run out. The edges of his vision blurred and began to go black as Danny struggled to climb out of the suit. He had barely managed to crawl out of the suit and reach Sam's still form before he collapsed and blacked out.

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Valerie cringed as she saw Jazz almost go down amidst the sea of blackness that surrounded her. No one was doing too well against their enemies. Danny's dad had innumerable scratches and cuts all over his body, but he kept blasting at the shadows recklessly, not caring that his efforts were getting them nowhere. Jazz was doing all right on her own, but she'd needed bailing out a few times. Tucker and Lancer weren't able to help much anymore, as most of the weapons on the speeder had been either fried or drained of their energy. They'd ended up resorting to the spare hand-held guns inside, but that supply had almost gone dry. _If we don't get out of here soon, we never will. _She thought glumly. Danny hadn't contacted her in a while and she was getting worried. It wasn't like him to stay out of touch for so long, especially during a battle as important as this.

But there hadn't been time to try to contact him either. The thousands of shadow creatures had them effectively pinned, and there was no time to spare trying to get a connection with the suit. And she was pretty sure one of the creatures had disconnected her communications device when it had slashed near her ear.

Ducking yet another clawed 'hand', Valerie blasted at the creature, silently cursing as it missed. She didn't have many shots left, and couldn't afford for any of them to miss. Another closed in on her, and as she leaned back to avoid it she tripped over a rock, falling on her back. Exhaustion chose that moment to close in on her limbs, clouding her mind and making her arms as heavy as rocks. _This is how it ends, then. Being torn apart by ghosts in the Ghost Zone._ She closed her eyes and calmly awaited the dark claws that would rake her spirit from her, but nothing happened. _Why isn't it killing me already! Just get it over with!_

Cautiously opening her eyes, she peered about and was surprised to see that all of the shadows had disappeared. Jack Fenton was standing a short distance off, shaking his head confusedly, and Jazz had sat down against the castle wall in exhaustion.

"Wha—Where did they go?" she asked quietly. No one answered her, but she hadn't expected an answer. She shakily clambered to her feet and made her way to the speeder to try to contact Danny. Lancer bounded from the speeder towards Jazz and Jack, and Tucker hurriedly opened the door. He helped her in, then sped out towards the other two combatants after quickly checking to make sure she was all right.

Shaking the clouds from her mind, she stared at the controls in front of her. _Now which one of these is going to let me get a hold of Danny….there!_ She spotted a small mike set up on the dashboard and reached for it, pressing a red button to turn it on. Turning the knob on the side, she managed to lock onto the suit's frequency.

"Danny, it's me, Valerie. Can you hear me?" she paused a moment, waiting for a reply, but was only met with crackling silence.

"Danny? DANNY!" she yelled, but she still got no response. Turning on the speakerphone of the speeder, she called out to Tucker.

"Tucker, get in here." The techno-geek waved a hand at her absently from where he was trying to get Jazz to drink some water.

"TUCKER!" she growled. He leapt to his feet and ran to the speeder, drink and Jazz forgotten at the tone of her voice. Panting, he reached the speeder in record time.

"What—do you—need?" he panted. Valerie pointed to the microphone.

"I can't get a hold of Danny. Either I'm not working this thing right, or he's in trouble. Can you get a good lock on the signal so I can go find him?" Tucker nodded and hooked his PDA up to the system, tapping away at its screen. A map appeared on the small screen, and it soon zoned in on a green speck.

"There it is. It looks like it's pretty far down in the dungeon. I think I'd better go with you to make sure you don't get lost."

Valerie scowled at him, but didn't refuse his help. _I don't want to endanger any more people than I have to. The others better not insist on following us._

"All right, but we'd better go now. I don't want them to accidentally find out Danny's secret if we find them at a bad time." she grabbed his hand and activated her board, which was thankfully unscathed. Flying from the speeder, she hovered over the others for a moment.

"We're going to rescue the others. Stay here until we come back—it shouldn't take long." Not waiting for an answer, Valerie sped off into the castle. She set Tucker down in the entryway, staring around her suspiciously.

"Which way do we go?" she quietly asked.

"Right. And then we take the first staircase down we see." She nodded her head and took off down the hall, determined to find Danny and Sam as soon as possible.

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_Maddie blasted wildly at the ghosts attacking her, trying to get out of their quickly closing circle. She could recognize most of the ghosts—they'd attacked the city before. There was the muscular metal one with the green goatee, and the glowing purple knight that had once captured the entire city. A beautiful Arabian ghost grinned at her from her right, and an overweight old lady covered in meat floated to her left. She thought she saw a glimpse of the rock star her daughter had loved, but shook it off as her imagination._

_Suddenly, her gun beeped loudly—the energy was gone. Maddie panicked and threw the gun at the nearest ghost, but it easily phased through the weapon. She turned around to run but found herself trapped by the ghosts that were closing in. Closing her eyes tightly, she backed up against a nearby wall, cringing in fright as they got closer and closer_

_The octopus-like ghost in front of her was blasted by a bright green ray and sent tumbling through the air. The ghosts all turned to face the new threat, and Maddie gasped in surprise when she saw the ghost boy attacking the others. He swooped down out of the air and took her in his arms, flying to the roof of a nearby building. The others followed, and he fought them all off until they were gone, shielding and protecting her from their attacks._

"_Wh—what do you want with me?" She asked timidly. The ghost boy frowned, confusion contorting his young features._

"_What do you mean? Why would I want anything from you?" He asked quietly._

"_Please, let me go! Just don't hurt me or my family," Maddie pleaded with the ghost boy, hoping he wouldn't hurt her too horribly. To her surprise, his features softened and he smiled gently at her._

"_I'd never hurt you. Why would you think I'd do something like that?"_

"_Because you're a ghost, and that's why you brought me here, isn't it? You had those other ghosts attack me so I'd be weak and you could destroy me yourself!" She cried. Shaking uncontrollably, she fell to her knees in front of the ghost, covering her eyes with her gloved hands._

_A silver hand fell on her shoulder._

"_I'd never do that! How could I hurt my own mother?" He asked. Maddie jerked away, stumbling to her feet._

"_No, that's impossible! You're not my son—Danny is my son! Danny Fenton!"_

_The ghost boy slowly approached her. "But I am your son. I'm Danny."_

_Shaking her head, Maddie backed away from the approaching specter._

"_No, my son is alive! He's not a ghost!"_

"_But I'm not a full ghost—I'm only half ghost." he calmly stated. Two white rings formed around his waist—Maddie had seen them before, but she had never found out what they did. The rings slowly moved across his body, revealing a white tee-shirt and jeans…_

"_NO!" she cried. "NO! That's impossible! Stop impersonating my son! You are not my son!"_

"_Mom, what are you talking about? It's me—Danny."_

_Maddie backed to the edge of the building, crying hysterically and collapsing onto one trembling knee._

"_No, no, it's not true! My son is good, you hear me? He's not like you!"_

_Suddenly, a door Maddie hadn't seen before crashed open, revealing her husband and daughter. They rushed towards the pair, relief on their faces, but instead of helping Maddie they embraced Danny, exclaiming how happy they were to see that he wasn't harmed and that he'd saved Maddie._

"_Jack, Jazz, what are you doing?" she yelled. "He's evil—that's not Danny—it's the ghost boy!"_

_The trio turned to face her, confusion written on their familiar faces. Jazz walked over to her and placed a concerned hand on Maddie's forehead._

"_Mom, are you all right?" Maddie batted her daughter's hand from her forehead, leaping to her feet._

"_Of course I'm all right! But that's not my son!" She pointed accusingly at the young boy, who was once again in his ghostly form. Jack and Jazz exchanged confused frowns._

"_Maddie, what are you talking about? Of course this is Danny. Anyone with half a brain could see that." He and the ghost boy slowly advanced towards her, joining Jazz._

"_What are you doing?" she cried, backing towards the edge of the building again._

"_We're only trying to help you, mom." the ghost boy said, reaching out his silvery hand._

"_No! You're not my son!" Maddie stopped as she felt her heel hit the edge of the building, but the others kept advancing towards her._

"_No, stop! Please, all of you, stop it!" she cried, leaning away from them as they got closer and closer. The ghost boy once again stuck his hand out towards her, his young face studying her concernedly, but she overbalanced and fell from the roof._

_As she fell, she saw his pasty face peer out over the ledge, calling for her._

"_Mom! Mom!..."_

"Mom…Mom! Wake up!" Maddie jerked upright, immediately regretting her action as hot pain raced up her back. She gasped and fell back down onto the pillow, clamping her eyes shut as the pain slowly receded.

"Mom, are you okay?" Opening her eyes, Maddie saw her daughter's concerned turquoise eyes peering down at her. Nodding her head, she placed a hand on her daughter's knee.

"I'm fine, sweetie. I just got up too quickly. Wh—What happened? Where are those shadow things?" She watched her daughter's brow wrinkle in confusion.

"They just disappeared. One minute they were there, trying to kill us, and the next they were just…gone. I don't know what happened to them, but I'm hoping that means Danny beat that ghost goddess…" Jazz trailed off, a far away look lighting in her eyes. _How can she call Phantom 'Danny' so easily? It's like she doesn't even differentiate between the two. _Maddie gently pulled Jazz back from her thoughts.

"Jazz, dear, what's wrong? No one—died, did they?" she hesitantly asked.

"No, no one died. I was just thinking—it's been almost an hour since Valerie and Tucker went into the castle to look for Sam." Maddie sat upright and cocked an eyebrow at her obvious exclusion, causing her daughter to quickly correct herself.

"And Danny and Valerie, of course." She saw a quick flash of annoyance cross her daughter's features. _Why did she leave Danny and Valerie out? She knows they're missing too—she wouldn't have forgotten. What is going on? Wait, did she say Valerie and Tucker?_

"What do you mean Valerie and Tucker went into the castle? Didn't your father go? Or at least Mr. Lancer?" Jazz shook her head.

"No, just those two. Valerie had called Tucker over the intercom on the speeder, and a couple minutes later they sped out and told us to stay here while they looked for S—the others."

_She almost did it again—what is going on? It's not like my dream is true—Danny's locked in that castle and she doesn't even seem to care!_ Maddie was pulled from her internal inquiries as Jazz spoke up.

"Mom, are you okay?" she shook her head to clear it of her doubts.

"I'm fine, dear. I think I just need to rest a little longer." Smiling convincingly at her daughter, she let her head fall back onto the pillow. Jazz smiled softly and rose from her seat.

"I'll tell dad you woke up. Is there anything you need?" Maddie shook her head, hoping her daughter would leave so she could think on her own. Jazz nodded her head and shut the door behind her as she left.

Sighing, Maddie slowly sat up, carefully feeling the scratches on her back. The last thing she could remember was Jack bellowing in anger and pain shooting up her back from the shadow creature's claws. _And now they've suddenly disappeared—why? And how? Why didn't Jack go with Tucker—I don't trust that ghost hunter enough to trust Tucker with her. What if she kidnaps him? What if none of them come back and this was all one big trick? And Danny… _She shook her head, trying to erase the images of her dreams that kept coming back. _He's not my son! Phantom is a ghost—there's no way he could be Danny. It's impossible…_

Maddie cautiously stood up from the bed and walked to the small window. She could see the drawbridge of the castle, still shut as tightly as it had been when they'd first arrived. _There's no way we could get in there. I don't know if the speeder has enough energy to fly up that high. _She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool metal. _Please be okay, Danny. Please be safe._

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"My PDA says they should be just through this door." Tucker said excitedly. They were both tired—they'd been wandering through the castle for at least an hour. Tucker had directed them down the wrong halls a couple of times, but they'd finally made it to the cell area. They both phased through the locked door, thankful that they could act like ghosts in the Ghost Zone. They rushed into the hallway, but stopped as they saw the long hall ahead of them. The first two doors were wide open, but the hallway was eerily silent.

"I thought you said they were just past the door." Valerie whispered. Tucker shrugged and consulted his PDA.

"It shouldn't be much further. Last door on the left, it looks like. Maybe we just can't hear them." Valerie glanced at his face and saw that he believed his last statement as much as she did.

Not caring to answer him, she rushed down the hall and tore the door open, gasping as she saw two still figures lying on the floor. Tucker rushed in behind her.

"Whoa, Valerie, you really shouldn't—" he cut off as his eyes fell on his two friend's bodies.

"Oh my gosh."

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Hope that's a bit better for an ending...:D Chapter 14 should be up soon, I'm working on it right now. And there WILL be a chapter 15, too. Please review, especially if you want to know what happens next...:D


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry about the re-post! Fanfiction pulled my chapter for some strange reason...but nothing changed. SORRY!

First off, I need to do some prodding and guilt-tripping. GO READ OUTCASTS BY ROSE GARDEN TWILIGHT! (ahem) Yes. You really should go read it—it's an awesome story. And sadly, there aren't too many reviews. So be dears and go read and review! Thankee!

You guys rock! Flames of Fate is next on this account, and there IS one more chapter for you to enjoy after this one. Enough of me—enjoy the second-to-last chapter! And sorry for waiting—true, I didn't have it written until three weeks after my last update, but my computer won't let me log into ANYTHING! It's being really stupid. (grumbles…) So I have to update at school. Sorry for further waits! And, unfortunately, chapter 15 will have a long wait too—I have a LOT of crad happening for a while, it IS almost graduation, after all. And there's standardized tests, finals, regionals, and any other crad my teachers decide to throw at me. So sorry in advance! And a HUGE sorry to mimiru1618—I couldn't wait for you! I'M SORRY! But it took me waaaay to long in the first place to update, so I just had to put it up.

**Phantomgirl040304: **Hehe, thank you! And I can leave it like that because it doesn't bug me—I know what's going to happen….and I get such lovely reviews! You guys really inspire me to keep going with your great reviews. Thanks!

**Flashx11:** Thanks for the review! Hope this sates your curiosity…

**heather:** Why thank you! I'm soo glad you like it enough to threaten me…:D And you're lucky you caught me just before I'm about to update. Hope this chapter lives up to the rest!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Danny Phantom. SADNESS!

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Maddie sat in the front of the speeder with the others, staring at the wall of the castle dejectedly. She wanted to storm the place and search for Danny and his friends, but there was no way they'd be able to find the children in such a large castle. _Besides, even if we could find them, we're all too tired and battered to help at all. As much as I hate to admit it, Phantom is our only hope…_

She had spent the past few hours pouring over any and all ghost notes that she could find in the speeder, trying to disprove her dream. She knew it was silly to believe a dream, but it had been so lifelike, so convincing. Nothing had come up to prove her dream true, but the strange uneasiness still sat in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head to try and rid herself of her doubts, but they kept coming back. _Maddie, this is silly! You're acting like a schoolgirl, believing in half ghosts. It couldn't possibly happen; no one can be half alive and half dead at the same time! It just couldn't work…right?_

She was pulled from her internal argument when she heard Jazz gasp beside her. Turning to see what was wrong, she was only met with the empty seat her daughter had just moments early occupied and the door of the speeder hanging wide open.

"Jazz, wha—" She looked up to see what Jazz was running at and quickly scrambled after her as she recognized the forlorn figures approaching them.

"Danny!" Dashing forward to meet her son's friends as they struggled out of the castle, Jack and Lancer followed closely behind her. Tucker was wearing the ecto-suit that she'd last seen Phantom wearing, carrying both Danny and Sam and supporting Valerie's small figure as she limped beside him. Maddie quickly scanned the area for the ghost hunter and the ghost boy, but saw neither. Her rising anger against the ghost boy subdued slightly when she saw Danny s frail body cradled in Tucker's arm, a large gash on the side of his forehead slowly bleeding onto his cheek.

"Oh, Danny, what have they done to you poor kids?" She whispered, reaching a tentative hand towards his wound only to pause inches from it and let loose a small gasp of recognition. _That cut—it's in the same place Phantom was slashed by that shadow creature. It's the same size too…NO! It can't be true, I won't believe these hallucinations! I can't let them do this to me! It's just nerves and lack of sleep and food. It's just a coincidence that they have…exactly the same cut._ Shaking her head, trying to purge her mind of such thoughts, she took her still son from Tucker's arms.

"What happened? Where's Phantom and the ghost hunter? Why do you have the suit? And what happened to Sam's side? It looks like she was burned." Maddie pummeled Tucker with questions as she cradled her son gently, hoping to find answers.

Tucker shook his head slightly and climbed out of the suit, gently placing Sam's limp body on the ground.

"I don't really know what happened. When V—the ghost hunter and I got there, Phantom was barely conscious, lying in a corner still trying to protect Valerie, and Danny and Sam were lying in the middle of the cell. The ghost hunter took him off…somewhere, I don't know where. She told us to use the suit and hurry back up here."

Maddie looked up at him searchingly.

"Are you sure you didn't see anything else? Why would Phantom desert us like that? Ghost's can't get that tired, it just doesn't happen."

"Half-ghosts can," Tucker muttered under his breath and Maddie's eyes widened in shock as his words swam through her head. _Did he just say what I think he did? It's impossible! No! My little boy is NOT a ghost! He's alive—he can't be half dead, that's just impossible! No one can be half dead and half alive, there's no possible way for that to happen._

"Maddie, are you all right?" Jack pulled her from her thoughts as he laid a hand on her shoulder, concern plain on his familiar face. "You were looking a little pale." She shook her head and smiled up at him.

"No, I'm okay. We need to get the kids back to the speeder and get out of here before anything else happens." Jack gently picked Sam up from where Tucker had placed her on the ground and headed back to the speeder, everyone else following behind him in a dismal parade. As Maddie carried her son, she looked down at his pale face and let her mind wander back to its previous thoughts. _Half-ghosts can't exist. The only thing I can think of that would even come close to allowing that would be a major fusion of ectoplasm and human DNA, but there isn't a machine powerful enough to do that. It would have to need a huge amount of ectoplasm to even run, and—_ Maddie gasped slightly as a vision of the first successful Fenton invention flashed across her mind—the portal. _Danny was in there when it turned on, and there had to have been enough wouldn't have kept something like that a secret. Would he?_

They all clambered into the speeder, letting the tired kids take the bunks. Maddie gently put Danny down on one of the lower bunks and grabbed the med kit to tend to Sam's burns. The scorches on her side and part of her leg were starting to fester with infection, and she carefully cleaned them out and wrapped them. The girl didn't stir at all, which worried Maddie. An injury that bad should have evoked some kind of response from her. After she finished wrapping Sam's side, she turned to Danny. The cut on his head had slowed its bleeding; only a small trickle of bloodstill dripped down his face. She tenderly wiped up the blood, absently noting the green flecks in it. _Wait, GREEN flecks? How in the world did…no, it can't be true…he would have told us, he trusts us. _She pulled a small red-topped vial from the pouch on the side of her suit and let some of the blood drip into it, uttering a silent prayer that later testing would reveal her worries to be nothing more than an overactive imagination.

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Mr. Lancer sat behind the driver's seat of the speeder where Jack Fenton was sitting; staring into space as he thought about what he'd just lived through. _I've been a teacher for almost 15 years, and never before has something like this happened to me. Although, I've never had a student quite like Danny Fenton before either._ He looked over at the unconscious boy lying on the bunk, his chest barely rising up and down and a bandage above his temple. _He's almost never on time to class anymore, and it's not just mine. He constantly ditches his other classes as well. I wonder what kind of a life he has to deal with. It must not be easy living with ghost-obsessed parents. I never even would have believed that ghosts existed if it weren't for his parents and their crazy inventions. _Lancer sighed and shook his head. _Maybe I can be a little easier on him; he does have a lot to deal with that I was formerly unaware of. But he would slack off in his classes even more than he already does if he knew we were being lax with him._

The star student of Casper High sat down beside himher long red hair brushing up against his arm. "Mr. Lancer, are you okay? You look a little pale." Lancer laughed softly at her statement.

"You'd be a bit pale too if you just had to fight something you never fully believed in before and lived."

"I think you'd be surprised, Mr. Lancer. Up until the beginning of this school year I didn't believe in ghosts either. But my brother had his accident, the one with the portal, and I had to believe." She trailed off softly with a faraway, calculating look in her eye as she looked towards her brother. "So much has changed since then, most of my fundamental beliefs and theories were shattered."

"Ghosts**…**Who would have ever thought our childhood stories would turn out to be partly true?" Lancer mused. "But Shakespeare wrote about a sorrowful, yet vengeful ghost in Hamlet, and from what I've seen his description was quite close to what the ghosts we see look like. And his motives seemed the same too—revenge on those who had wronged them in their real life, or even in their afterlife."

Jazz turned to face him and nodded. "That is what most ghosts here are after. They want to hurt the innocent or take over the world. But not all of them are like that. Take Phantom, for example. He just saved our lives, sacrificing his time and energy to save the people who constantly hunt him and want him destroyed. I think there's a lot more to some ghosts than most people know about. And a lot more to some people."

Lancer was about to ask her what she meant by that when Jack jumped up from his seat.

"The portal's dead ahead!" he bellowed loudly. Everyone jumped to their feet and rushed to the windshield, the small yellow hexagon looming in the distance.

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Sergeant Travis Dowdy and his deputy Shane Dodd sat in the Fenton's basement lab, quietly playing a friendly game of "Go Fish" to pass the long night. The past two weeks had been fairly quiet, despite the futile search for the missing people. No ghosts had been seen since the initial capture, and Danny Phantom and the Red Hunter had disappeared about a week after.

"Got any threes?" Shane asked jadedly. Travis looked at his cards with his dull green eyes and shook his head, tiredly running a hand through his mouse-brown hair.

"Go fish." As the blond-haired, blue-eyed deputy reached towards the pile, the portal unexpectedly whooshed open and a large white vehicle drove through, its occupants quickly piling out once it halted just in front of the officers. Dowdy and Dodd jumped up from their game and stared at the new arrivals, obviously not expecting anyone to come through the portal. They'd only been assigned there to notify the Chief if anything came through. Travis thought that she might have been worried about a ghost invasion and now as he shakily reached for his radio, he wondered what she was going to say.

"Um, Chief? This is Sergeant Dowdy, the missing persons just…they're…they…" A crackling was heard from the radio as he stuttered into silence. After a few moments, the Chief's voice could be heard coming through the speaker.

"What about them, Dowdy? Those people aren't coming back, and neither are any of those ghosts that used to haunt this town. Spit it out already, I'm busy." He pressed the side button again.

"They're here." A loud clattering noise was heard on the other side of the radio, and then a crackling silence. A worried look crossed over the Sergeant's face as he spoke into the radio.

"Chief? Chief, are you there?"

"Yes, yes I'll be right over. Don't let any of them leave before then." The radio turned off and Travis turned to the former occupants of the speeder. They all stared back at him and Shane, not expecting anyone to have been in the basement.

He looked at the two bodies they carried and his eyes widened in shock. They'd obviously been through a lot since they'd disappeared two weeks ago.

"Let's get all of you upstairs and cleaned up. The Chief only said to not let you leave, I'm sure she wouldn't object to letting us get you cleaned up and fed." He turned and motioned for Shane to follow him, the ragged group of former captives trailing behind them silently. Mr. Fenton carried his son up the stairs, the bald teacher following with one of the girls that had been originally captured in his arms. Both children looked close to death; the boy was pale and hardly breathing, and the girl looked feverish and had a large bandage about her waist.

Shane got everyone else settled in the kitchen, passing out some sandwich meat that they'd stocked in the fridge. No one really touched the food, even though they looked gaunt and hollow, as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. Mrs. Fenton seemed distracted, staring at the table and shaking her head in denial every once in a while. The daughter was absently playing with her hair, and the boy was twirling what looked like a laser pointer in his fingers. The other girl, who had been missing for less time than the others, stared up at the stairs with apparent worry written on her face. Travis leaned against the doorframe uncomfortably, staring at the ceiling while he waited for the Chief to show up.

Five minutes later, a loud siren signaled the arrival of the Chief, who barreled into the house moments later, crowding the room with her large frame and presence. She was a fairly heavy woman, and the curlers in her pale and greasy brown hair were falling out of place. Her blotchy skin and evil glare was enough to scare most men away from her. Travis knew for a fact that she wasn't married or dating, and he doubted that she ever had or ever would. Her sleep-glazed eyes gazed around the room, her expression plainly saying that she was displeased at having been woken up.

"All right, where are they all? I only see four of them, Dowdy. Where's the others?" She barked, practically baring her teeth at him.

"Upstairs, Chief. But—" She cut him off with an abrupt wave of her hand.

"Just get them down here, I need to ask them some questions."

"Chief, I can't. Two of them are—"

"I don't care what they're doing, Dowdy! Get them down here NOW!" Travis bit back a retort that would have gotten him fired.

"They're unconscious, Chief. They can't come down." She glared at him sharply.

"If you're wrong about this, Dowdy…" Not caring to finish her sentence, she spun around and marched up the stairs, calling out orders over her shoulder.

"Dodd, make sure those four stay where they are, I need to get some information out of them." She disappeared upstairs and Travis turned back to the four surprised people in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about the Chief, she's a little…rough." The young boy with glasses snorted at his comment.

"Yeah, she's probably mad that we disturbed her 'beauty sleep'." Neither Travis nor Shane could hold back their laughter at this statement.

"Man, that's a good one." Shane coughed out through his laughs. "She definitely needs all the beauty sleep she can get." Their laughter trailed off as loud bellows from the Chief echoed down the stairs.

"Mother of mercy, what happened to these children! I should site you for child abuse, these kids look close to death!" The Chief barreled down the stairs, Mr. Fenton and Mr. Lancer herded in front of her like guilty school children.

"Take a seat, I have a feeling this is going to be a long interview."

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Maddie bathed her son's brow with a cool rag, gently washing the blood from around the slowly healing cut on his forehead. The police had left a couple of hours ago, giving their consent for the others to go home. Maddie had been able to convince them to let Danny stay home, saying he was only tired from everything that had happened and would be fine.

Danny was sleeping peacefully now, but Maddie couldn't help but think something wasn't quite right with her little boy. She still hadn't looked at the blood sample she'd taken from him earlier, trying to convince herself that it was only contaminated from another ghost. But her dreams kept coming back and haunting her. She didn't want to believe them, but the extraneous evidence that was piling up before her tugged at her, wanting her to accept something she still didn't believe in. She silently listed them off in her head, cringing as she realized there were more than she thought. _The cut on his head, the personality, Jazz and Tucker both showing sympathy for the ghost and standing up for him, the ghost hunter's name also being the name of Danny's new friend, the fact that Phantom and the ghost hunter disappeared after the fight, Danny's blood, Phantom knowing how to work the speeder so well, the small slips, the dreams…there's just so many of them, I can't make myself believe that they're all just coincidences._ She thought back to other encounters with the ghost boy, and all of them made her doubt herself more and more. He always seemed to hold back more when he fought them, never seeming to really want to hurt them.

Maddie was pulled from her inner struggle when Danny stirred, his blue eyes slowly opening.

"Mom?" he whispered. "What happened, did we win?" Maddie quickly let out a sigh of relief.

"Danny, you're okay! Oh, thank goodness. You had us so worried! What happened in the castle? What did that ghost do to you? Did Phantom hurt you? How did you get that cut on your head?"

Danny leaned back and shut his eyes, a shaky white hand coming up to touch his brow.

"Ouch, mom, that's a lot of questions. I only just woke up."

"I'm sorry honey. I'm just so happy you're awake."

Danny sat up slowly, propping himself up with a couple of pillows before starting his explanation.

"Well, I remember Aradia taunting us, and she almost killed Sam with some sort of spell. Then Phantom came and fought her. I don't really remember much after that except a large explosion, I think I blacked out after that."

"Is that how you got that cut?" Maddie asked. Danny nodded.

"I think so." Frowning, she tentatively brushed her fingertips against it. There were a few green flecks mixed in with the starting scab and it made her frown even deeper.

"How did this ectoplasm get into your blood? Your cut is full of it." Red flags appeared in her mind as she saw her son's face pale at her question.

"Oh, um, that? Heh, well, I guess some of Phantom's blood must have mingled with mine, or something like that…I'm not sure."

"So he really did help you, then? He wasn't hurting any of you, he was telling the truth?" She carefully watched for his reaction, and as she'd dreaded he got quite angry at her question.

"Of course he didn't hurt us! Not all ghosts are bad, mom. Some of them just want to be left alone." She could remember Phantom saying the same thing many times before, and in the same tone of voice too. A slightly uncomfortable silence fell between them. Finally, Maddie swallowed and asked him another question.

"Danny, are you sure you don't remember anything else? Tucker seemed to leave a lot of holes in his story of what happened, and Valerie said she didn't really remember anything. What really happened? I feel like you're leaving something out. Where was Sam in all of this? You haven't mentioned her at all." His face paled, fright flitting across his eyes at her question.

"I**-**I**…**Mom, I'm kinda tired. Can I sleep for a while?" Danny clearly wanted to avoid the subject, but he did look tired. Instead of berating him for squirming out of her question she sighed and nodded.

"Yes, go ahead. Just don't leave this room; you can see your friends tomorrow. Valerie and Tucker are both fine, Mr. Lancer took them home a few hours ago, and Sam should be out of the hospital soon; the doctors said her burns weren't too serious and could be easily treated. She's already awake, too." Danny perked up at this news, a relieved sigh escaping his lips.

"That's good, I was worried about her. That burn looked really bad when I saw it, even worse than it had in my—" his eyes widened in shock and he clamped his mouth shut.

"In your what?" she asked curiously. _Please don't let him say dream, please don't let him say dream! Phantom said he had a dream about Sam, that's how he led us to Aradia._ Danny gulped and averted his eyes.

"Oh, um, in my, uh, memory! Yeah, it was worse than I'd remembered from, from when I'd seen her before." Maddie's frown deepened as he looked up at her hopefully. She decided to ignore it and worry over her dilemma later.

"Get some rest, Danny. I'll see you in the morning." Carefully sliding off of the bed, she walked to the door and paused, turning back to look at her son.

"Goodnight, sweetie."

"Night, mom." Smiling softly, she closed the door behind her and leaned against the dark wood, a hand reaching into her pouch and grasping the small vial inside. _Please don't let it be true._

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Hey, I finished! YAY! Now to find a way to get it up at school…hmm…Please R&R, and I must say I'M SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I feel REALLY bad about it, but it's hard for me to find an open computer at school, and not all of them will accept my floppies. I'm trying, promise! I'll have 15 written soon, I hope, but then again I have a LOT of stuff happening in the next month. I hope that the chapters are well-written, enough so that you have something to tide you over until I can update again.


	15. Chapter 15

I'M SORRY! This has been ready for SO LONG, but my internet hasn't let me log in since March. So I haven't been able to log in at all since May 16, which was my last day of school, and this wasn't done then. I was supposed to get my laptop on the 27th, BUT DELL CANCELLED THE ORDER SO IT TOOK LONGER! AAHHH! That was frustrating, but even more frustrating was that when I finally DID get my laptop on June 13(more or less) I couldn't get online for days! But now that's all fixed, so here's the last chapter! Enjoy!

Wow, after nine months, I've finally gotten to the last chapter of The Box Ghost's Revenge. I want to thank everyone who reviewed; you guys were awesome support for me throughout this entire story! I really had a lot of fun with this one, and I'm kinda sad it's over. But at least there is the sequel to look forward to. Thank you all soo much! This chapter is dedicated to all of you who reviewed; especially my two betas who helped me make this such an awesome story: darkflame1516 and mimiru1618. Thanks guys! I hope this super-long chapter is satisfying!

One more thing: I'm re-doing Chapters 1-10; 1-3 replacements are already up. See my profile for more details on it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Danny Phantom, so don't try to get money off of me!

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Maddie sat at the kitchen table, her hands tugging at her messy hair as her sleep-deprived eyes looked over the results of her tests once more. For the past day and a half she had researched the possibility of ghost/human hybrids while Danny slept and recovered upstairs, but she still couldn't get her mind to believe that her son, her innocent little boy was "Public Enemy Number One". She had tested and re-tested the blood sample she'd gotten from his cut, and had even snuck upstairs while he was sleeping and taken a hair sample, but all of the tests showed the same result. How it was even possible for someone to be only half a ghost she had yet to figure out, but she knew the answer would come with time. _Why did he never tell us he had ghost powers? He knows we would love him no matter what, so why would he keep such a huge secret from us?_

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she shuffled through her papers and calculations once more. The tests had revealed that Danny had a huge amount of ectoplasm infused with his DNA, of that she was sure. Looking back over the past year or so, she realized the facts had been there for her to see the whole time—the Ghost Gabber, the Fenton Finder, the Fenton Specter Deflector incident in Colorado…any one of those events should have alerted her to his powers, but she had subconsciously chosen to ignore it and focus on fixing the inventions that only malfunctioned around her son.

She was pulled from her thoughts when her daughter quietly entered the darkened kitchen.

"Jazz, what are you doing up? It's past midnight; you need to rest, sweetie." Jazz jumped a little and spun to face her mother.

"Oh! I didn't see you there, Mom. I just needed a drink." Jazz grabbed a tall blue cup from the cabinet and poured herself a glass of orange juice, sitting down across from her mother.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing to the papers in front of Maddie.

"Oh, that, it's just some research I've been doing." She tried to push all of the papers together to keep her daughter from seeing them, but Jazz was too quick and pulled a couple of sheets from the spread-out pile.

"DNA tests?" She asked quietly, her face paling in the dim lighting as she scanned the papers.

"Mom, what do you need DNA tests for?" Jazz gulped slightly and looked up at her mother's weary face.

Maddie shrugged lightly and looked down at the pile of papers in her hands.

"Oh, I just wanted to be sure nothing happened to your brother while he was in that awful place…just to be safe, you understand. He's fine." Maddie silently hoped her daughter wouldn't be able to decipher the results of her testing, she wanted to keep Danny's secret to herself. After a few minutes of silence she looked up at her daughter's face.

"You know, don't you Mom?" She whispered softly. Maddie faked surprise at her daughter's question.

"Know what, Jazz?" She innocently asked. Jazz scowled at her mom and tossed the papers across the table.

"Don't do that to me, Mom. I know that you know Danny's secret. I'm just a little surprised, is all. I didn't expect you to figure it out so soon." Maddie sat up straight in her chair, anger flashing through her eyes.

"Are you telling me you didn't think I was smart enough to figure out my son is half ghost?" She hissed. As soon as she said it she put her hands across her mouth; she still hadn't wanted to admit it to herself. Jazz shook her head at her mother.

"No, I just meant that after all this time you and Dad had ignored the signs so well that I figured you'd never see the truth. Or at least that it would take a lot of convincing for you to believe."

"It did." Maddie whispered. "I saw the signs, for months I've seen them but chosen not to acknowledge them. But the past two weeks brought up so many doubts in my mind I had to know. The dreams, the cut, the slips; it was all too coincidental for me to deny it any longer." Jazz frowned as Maddie mentioned the dreams.

"What dreams, Mom? What happened in them?"

"Well, there was one where I came downstairs in the morning and Danny Phantom was in the kitchen. I saw him, but both you and your father acted like nothing was wrong. You both kept telling me that Phantom was Danny, that I couldn't see it. In the other, I was fighting off a hoard of ghosts, and Danny Phantom saved me. I got scared, figuring he'd only saved me so he could kill me himself as payback for all the times I'd tried to obliterate him. But instead he told me he couldn't hurt me, and he changed his form to look like Danny. Both you and Jack were there, and you kept telling me the same things." Jazz frowned as she listened to Maddie's dreams.

"Your subconscious mind was trying to tell you the truth. The shock of being kidnapped and living with him must have triggered some kind of subliminal response, trying to tell you what was really going on." They sat together in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Maddie thought of something and opened her mouth.

"How long have you known, Jazz? Does your father know too?" Jazz turned to her mother and shook her head, smiling slightly.

"No, Dad doesn't know. He's not quite as bright as you are, even though Danny's had more close calls around him. Sam and Tucker know, though. I think they've always known, from the beginning. I've known since that psychiatrist was at our school; Ms. Spectra. She was actually a ghost who wanted to kill me so that she could feed off of the misery of everyone else. I tried to confront Danny about his strange behavior in the drugstore one day, but he gasped and ran out of the store into the back alley. I followed him, and saw him transform." Maddie nodded slowly.

"Did you tell him you knew?"

"No, I didn't. I figured I'd let him tell me when he was ready."

"That's probably a good idea, I don't want him to feel scared." Maddie paused for a moment, staring down at the results in her hands. "Why didn't he tell me? Why is he so scared of us finding out?"

Jazz pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I think he's afraid that we'll reject him, and I don't think your hunting him helped his mental state any. He's afraid that you won't love him anymore, that you'll hate him for being half-ghost." Maddie stared at her daughter in shock.

"But he has to know we love him no matter what he does! That we'll love him no matter what he is!" Shrugging, Jazz helped her mother gather the papers spread out over the table.

"I don't know why he didn't tell you at first. I think it all goes back to fear of rejection. Everyone fears rejection to an extent, and I think Danny was even more scared because you two are ghost hunters. Plus, you two are always raving about how you want to tear the ghost kid apart 'molecule by molecule'." Maddie sighed heavily.

"Jazz, how did he get like he is? Half-ghost? How did it happen?"

"Do you remember the accident with the portal?" she asked.

"Yes, that's what I'd thought." Maddie said, nodding thoughtfully. "He must have been inside when the portal was turned on, infusing his DNA with enough ectoplasm to half-kill him."

The living room clock chimed twice, indicating the time. Maddie sighed and stood up from the table, Jazz following behind her.

"Let's go to bed, sweetie. We'll worry about this in the morning." _Well, I will._ Jazz nodded and hugged her mother.

"Night, Mom. I love you." She whispered in Maddie's ear.

"I love you too, sweetie. See you in the morning." Jazz pulled away and walked up the stairs, leaving her mother behind in the darkness. Maddie turned off the dimmed kitchen light, grabbed her research papers and headed up the stairs. She paused in front of Danny's room and opened the door. Seeing his familiar form silently huddled beneath the dark blue covers put a smile on her tired face. She slowly closed the door behind her and headed to her room. Placing her results in a safe that only she knew the combination to, she climbed under the covers next to her husband and fell into the most peaceful sleep she'd been able to get in weeks.

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Danny woke up slowly the next day, soaking in the soft warmth of his bed and savoring the wonderful feeling of just lying down. After a few minutes he opened his eyes, surprised to see the remains of a sunset through the window. His window. Not the window of a castle, or the Specter Speeder, but his room. His room with his bed. _We made it. We finally made it home, all of us. There were times I didn't think any of us would make it back, but we did. Sam's going to be okay, Mom said she would be getting released soon. But that was last night…right?_

He pushed back the covers stood up, leaning on the headboard until his wobbly legs got used to his weight once more. Looking at the digital clock that sat by his bed, he saw that it read 8:02 p.m. He suddenly realized that someone, probably his mom, had taken off his dirty tee-shirt and jeans and replaced them with his pink and white stripped pajamas. _I wonder how long I've been sleeping. How many days has it been since we got back?_

Frowning, he stared at the phone, debating on whether or not to call Sam to see if she was out of the hospital yet. _But if she is back, what would I say to her? "Just wondering how you were doing?" After all that happened, she'd expect a better reaction…and she'd get suspicious if I said that, I know she would._ He looked out at the rapidly darkening sky, contemplating his options. _Maybe it would just be better for me to fly over there and see for myself. If she's not there, then I won't have wasted anything—It'd probably help me build up my strength again, if nothing else._

Having decided his course of action, he took a quick trip to the bathroom before heading off to Sam's house.As he washed his hands, he saw the bandage around his forehead was starting to come off. Carefully peeling it off, he slowly revealed the cut on his forehead, wincing as some of the newly-formed scabs came off with the bandage. A memory came to him as he inspected the cut; his mother's face as she tentatively fingered the cut the night before. _She looked…confused. Or something like that. It was like she was trying to discount something in her mind._ Eyes widening, a possibility he didn't want to consider came to him. _Could she have figured it out! _He quickly shook his head in denial. _No, she couldn't have. Not after all this time. If she was going to figure it out she would have already._

Deciding that the cut was healed well-enough that he didn't have to re-bandage it, he threw out the old one and finished up in the bathroom, pushing all doubts and fears from his head as he looked forward to his visit with Sam. He could feel the strength returning to him already, and knew the late-night flight would be good for him. He stuck his head out of his bedroom door and peered down the hall, making sure no one seemed likely to want to disturb him while he was gone. Muted voices could be heard from his parent's bedroom, and Jazz's light was dimly shining from under her door. Satisfied that his room would be left alone until he came back, he transformed and flew off to Sam's house.

The cool night air brushed against his face as he flew above the houses and buildings of Amity Park, a comforting peace falling over his thoughts. The dark red and orange sky silhouetted the tall buildings of the downtown area, small stray rays of light filtering around and sparkling off the windows. _It's nice to be able to fly around up here without worrying about anything or anyone getting hurt. I've really missed this._

Sam's large house loomed in the distance, and he smiled as he saw a faint light radiating from her window. As he got closer to the balcony of her room, he could hear music drifting out, recognizing it as Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach. _Only Sam would listen to that scary stuff in the middle of the night._ A small shiver crept up his spine as the organ hit a screeching chord and he suddenly felt like someone was watching him. He quickly dismissed the feeling as paranoia and flew down to her window, knocking on the polished glass to get her attention.

She looked up from where she was lying on her bed and smiled, beckoning him in with a wave of her hand. Phasing through the window, Danny landed on the floor by her bed and changed back.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as he sat down next to her on the comforter. "Shouldn't you be in bed resting? Tucker said you were pretty beat up." Danny shrugged noncommittally.

"Nah, I feel fine." He unconsciously reached up a hand to the cut on his head, drawing Sam's attention to it.

"Danny, what happened? How'd you get cut? You're not hurt anywhere else, are you?" Her face was immediately filled with panic as she looked him up and down to make sure he wasn't injured. An amused grin crossed his face as he watched her, but then his eyes caught her bandage.

"I think I should be the one asking you that question. You were hurt worse than me." She blushed slightly, looking down at the white bandage that encased her abdomen.

"It's not too bad; the doctor said I should be fully healed in about three weeks." An uneasy silence fell between them, and Danny absently studied his hands. _Wow, this is uncomfortable…why did I come here in the first place? I could have just waited until the morning, or at least until Tucker could be here, he can always break these awkward silences. _After a few tense minutes, Sam spoke up.

"Danny, are you sure you're okay? Tucker said the suit drained you pretty badly, just like it did last year. He said you weren't breathing well and he was really worried that you wouldn't make it, and that cut looks like it was pretty bad. What happened?" Looking at her saddened expression, he realized how concerned she really was and remembered the dream he'd had days before about Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger. Smiling softly, he took her hand.

"I'm fine, Sam. A little tired, but I've been sleeping ever since the Box Ghost beat Aradia. I think I'll be okay." At his statement, a disbelieving gasp escaped Sam's mouth.

"The Box Ghost beat Aradia? How did that happen!" Rubbing the back of his neck, Danny sighed heavily.

"Well, it's kind of a long story." Sam smiled at him.

"It's not like we have anything else to do," she said. "Tell away." He leaned over Sam and grabbed an extra pillow, a blush creeping over his face as he wondered if his dream might have been more than just a normal dream or wishful thinking. Leaning it against the headboard, he settled into the soft pillow and started his story.

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Three hours later, they'd both told their parts of the past two week's 'adventure' and were digesting it in their heads. Danny had left out the part of the dream with Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger, wanting to save that confrontation for later, or better yet, never. He was uncomfortable with the idea that Sam liked him, even though he realized that he'd been secretly hoping for it for a long time. _I think I'm more scared that the dream was only showing me what I wanted to see, not what really happened…and I don't think I want to find out if it means our friendship might be ruined. _He sighed heavily, causing Sam to look up at him with concern.

"Danny, are you—" She paused when they both saw his ghost sense go off, the light blue smoke dissipating as he looked around the room for any sign of the cause. They didn't have to wait long to find the source; the Box Ghost soon floated into view, hovering just above the bed where the two friends were resting. Danny scrambled off of the bed and transformed, flying up to confront the Box Ghost.

"Why are you here?" He asked cautiously, not trusting the ghost but still hesitant to hit him. _After all, he did finish off Aradia when I couldn't…_The Box Ghost eyed Danny, seemingly surprised at his reaction.

"I came to warn you." Danny waited for him to continue, but after a few impatient moments, he couldn't bring himself to wait any longer.

"Warn me of what? Is Aradia out again?" The Box Ghost shook his head slightly, an amused look crossing his features.

"No, she's not. I tricked her into a prison of her own making; she will not be getting out any time soon. I came to warn you of what you will face. Do not think that I have forgotten what you did to me in the past—those wrongs will never be forgotten, and will soon be avenged. I only saved you from Aradia's incompetent plan so that I would finally be able to have my revenge."

Frowning, Danny cocked an eyebrow at the muscular ghost.

"What do you mean by that?" He gazed curiously at the halfa, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Aradia originally used me as her pawn in her plans for revenge, but she overlooked a very important detail. Now I am the master; I will not fail."

"Why are you telling me this? What's going on!" Danny was quickly getting frustrated, but the specter did not give a direct answer, settling instead for a vague warning.

"Do not leave your back unguarded, Danny Phantom. I _will_ be back to seek my revenge." The Box Ghost then phased out through the roof, leaving a very confused halfa in his wake. _What just happened? Why did he save me if he's so bent on destroying me? I should chase after him and ask…but I don't think he's gonna tell me anything else. Why would he warn me in advance if he wants vengeance on me?_

"Danny, Danny are you okay?" Pulled from his musings, he turned around to find a very confused and worried Sam staring up at him. He floated down to the floor and changed back for the second time that night, once again taking his place beside her on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine…I think." He paused slightly, a calculating look gracing his features. "What exactly do you think he meant by all of that?"

Sam shook her head slightly and sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. Why would he tell you he's going to be after you soon? It doesn't seem like a very smart thing to do; if I were a ghost I wouldn't tell you. It gives you an unfair advantage." Danny chuckled at her statement.

"Well, this is the Box Ghost we're talking about. He isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box."

"Don't underestimate him, Danny." Sam scolded. "After all, he did beat Aradia, which was more than you'd done." He blushed crimson at the comment, embarrassed that the Box Ghost had been able to defeat Aradia when he'd been almost unconscious from the effort.

"I know, I know. It's just that I can't seem to get the idea of him being a real threat to click. Something doesn't seem right here, and I can't figure it out. I thought he was just a pawn in Aradia's plans, but he managed to beat her without much of a fuss. I wonder if there's something more to this that I'm just not seeing. Why would he warn me?" He mused aloud, not noticing that Sam could hear him. "It just doesn't make any sense." He shook his head and looked up at the top of Sam's canopied bed, doubts and thoughts whirling through his head. Sam sighed softly and leaned back onto her pillow, a small grunt of pain escaping her lips. Jerked from his thoughts, Danny's overprotective mode kicked in.

"Are you okay, Sam? What's wrong? Is there anything you need me to get? Should I get your grandma?"

Sam chuckled at his efforts. "Danny, I'm fine. My side's just a little sore, that's all. I'll be fine." He frowned, wanting to but too concerned to believe her.

"Are you sure? After that dream I had, I don't want to risk anything…" He trailed off, immediately regretting letting that small bit of information slip; he hadn't meant to confront her about the dream.

"What dream? Danny, what are you talking about?" _Way to go, Fenton, now she's going to interrogate it out of you._ Rubbing the back of his neck again, he averted his eyes and attempted to answer.

"Oh…uhh…it was n-n-nothing. Just a dream I had." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Would this have anything to do with that dream you said you had that told you where to find me?" Danny remained silent, not wanting to tell her, but not able to come up with a convincing lie.

"Danny, tell me! If this has something to do with what just happened—" He sent up a silent prayer, hoping that it would be heard. _Please don't make me tell her…_

"No, it didn't have anything to do with the Box Ghost." She sighed softly in relief, but didn't let up on her interrogations.

"Then what was it?" she softly asked. "Whatever it was, it's got you in an uptight mess." Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for the confession he knew was to come. _Okay, you can do this. Just breathe, don't worry about it. You don't have to tell her how you feel if she doesn't like you back. Just tell her about the dream._

"I didn't tell you everything about the dream. There was a part, and I saw something…" He drifted off, not quite sure where to go from there. After a few moments of silence, he picked up his trail again.

"Do you remember me telling you about those doors I saw? The ones in that hallway where I saw some of my memories?" She nodded but kept silent, her confused face patiently watching him. He gulped and continued.

"Well, there was one I didn't tell you about. It wasn't my memory. There was a day a couple of months ago where I couldn't go with you and Tucker to the Nasty Burger because I had so much homework, and, I saw it. What you and Tucker were talking about." He stopped, not quite sure what to say. Looking at Sam's face, he watched her blush in embarrassment. _Maybe it really did happen, then. Maybe...no, I can't get my hopes up. What if it was all just my imagination? What if she doesn't like me back? _Sam shifted uneasily next to him, pulling him from his thoughts.

"What did you hear?" She asked embarrassedly, unsucessfully trying to hide her blush. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Well, um, you two were worrying about me. Well, it was mostly you." He conceded after a short pause. She smiled a bit. Taking a deep breath, he hurriedly spat out the rest of what he'd seen.

"And…um…you…said-you-loved-me." The words came out so fast that at first he wasn't sure she had heard them. Both remained silent for a few minutes, an uneasy feeling falling between them. _Oh man, what did I just do? What if I was wrong, what I just made the biggest mistake of my life? What if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore? Why did I have to tell her? I could have just made something up._ Danny finally broke the silence.

"I, um, I'd better go home. Mom might come check up on me; I think she'd be pretty mad if I wasn't there." Disappointed with himself, he slowly sat up. He was just about to get off of the bed when Sam's hand grabbed his arm.

"Danny, wait." He turned around, trying to keep the hope from his eyes and voice.

"Yeah?" He croaked. Sam's eyes were filled with conflicting emotions, and he couldn't make out what she was thinking.

"I…um…about your dream and what you saw…" He blushed bright red and gulped loudly, cursing himself inwardly for his hormones. _Calm down, Fenton! Don't get your hopes up…_

"It really happened. The whole thing, I…I'm sorry, Danny, I'll understand if you don't want to be friends, but—" He quickly cut her off, a large smile adorning his face.

"So you really do, I mean you actually…_like me _like me?" She nodded slightly, her crimson face turned away from him.

"I'm sorry, Danny, please don't let this ruin our friendship." She whispered softly. Eyes widening in shock at her statement, Danny turned her head towards him.

"Sam, it's okay, I don't mind. In fact, I'm kind of happy that it really did happen." Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at him.

"Really?" she whispered. Pulling her into a soft embrace, carefully avoiding her burns, he stroked her hair as she cried onto his shoulder.

"I love you, Sam."

"I love you too, Danny," came the muffled reply. She laughed softly and pulled away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"We're such idiots, Danny. Both of us." She coughed slightly and leaned back onto the pillows, Danny settling down next to her on his own pillow. Smiling, he shook his head and found Sam's hand with his own.

"Yeah, we are. But at least now we can be idiots together, right?" She broke into laughter, a huge grin gracing her lips.

"Danny, what would I do without you?" He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I don't know, but let's hope you never have to find out." He scooted closer to her and carefully wrapped his arm around her shoulder, their noses almost touching as they faced each other.

"Good night, Sam."

"Night, Danny."

The moon shone in on their faces, lighting the happy smiles in an ethereal glow as they blissfully drifted into slumber.

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The Box Ghost paced up and down Aradia's personal office, contemplating his options. He'd locked Aradia in a prison of her own making, effectively making sure she would not be able to get out for a long time. Smiling grimly, he looked over to the black vase with blood-red veins running through it, the gateway to the new prison of his former master.

"Now I am the master, Aradia. You have no control over me anymore. You gave me more power than I could ever have hoped to gain on my own, and I played along. But you did not expect me to want to be my own master—yet another flaw in you that matches your would-be future husband. Both of you underestimated me; you have paid for it. And soon, he will too."

Turning from the vase, he looked around the office. Many of the objects were unusable to him, but that was not a problem. The only one he really felt he would need was the large viewing mirror hung on the far wall behind the throne. He could not use it himself, but his new ally would be able to tap its powers. Suddenly, the far door opened, admitting four cloaked figures.

"Ah, you have arrived." He paused in front of the throne and waited until they had approached him.

"I am now your master and you will do as I say. I have defeated your old master, one who is unworthy of remembrance. From now on you will obey me alone, and you will start with this task: to help me destroy Danny Phantom, the same halfa you tried to help your old master defeat. She may have failed, but I will not. Now go, and do the tasks I have assigned to you." They bowed to him and retreated out the door, their red eyes shining sinisterly from under the blood-red hoods.

He turned to the viewing mirror, gazing into its swirling, misty depths. "You may come out now." Another cloaked figure appeared from the shadows. It had arrived with the others, but this one had a different task. It stopped just behind him, it's eerie reflection gazing at him through the glass.

"You will adhere to the deal?" The female voice asked softly.

"Of course. You help me defeat Danny Phantom by using your powers and knowledge of this mirror, and I in return will help you free your former master." The cloaked figure nodded, its red eyes blinking in acknowledgement.

"Do you wish for me to find him in the glass for you now?" Hesitating slightly, the Box Ghost shook his head.

"No, I have warned the halfa; let him make of this fight what he will." A wry smile appeared on his features.

"Let the games begin."

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DONE!

Thanks to everyone who reviews, you guys are the ones who keep me writing. Hits are all fine and dandy, but its reviews that make the story. Thank you! I'll see you in December with the sequel! And it'll be in December because that's when I'm PLANNING on finishing FOF and DOVE…and because I don't have any clue what's going to happen. So suggestions are helpful too! But nothing too vague. I really only need help on the evil plot—what will it be, specifically? What will the Box Ghost and his new assistant do?

Oh, and one more thing—I want to know how you found out about my story. Just curious. It could be from the link in my other profile, or on the menu thingy, or word of 'mouth', author alert, or however you found it. Please and thank you!

The Sleep Warrior


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